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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. content — happy
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. date — the fruit
  6. row — a line
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. content — the amount
  13. row — to paddle
  14. scale — size or range
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fork — in a road
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. scale — in music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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