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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. field — farmland
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. land — ground
  9. row — a line
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. land — to come down
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. field — for sport
  15. rock — a stone
  16. present — the time now
  17. field — a subject
  18. row — to paddle
  19. date — the fruit
  20. content — happy
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. content — the amount
  23. land — a country
  24. row — a quarrel

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