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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. drill — army training
  5. suit — clothes
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. date — the fruit
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. suit — to fit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lean — thin
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. chest — a box
  20. clip — a video
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lean — to bend
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. drill — the tool

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