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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. track — a path
  6. track — a song
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cold — an illness
  9. land — to come down
  10. track — to keep track
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. land — a country
  13. field — farmland
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. land — ground
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. dip — to sink
  23. rock — music
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com