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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wound — an injury
  3. march — music
  4. tube — a container
  5. chest — a box
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. tube — the underground
  8. march — the month
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — the month
  13. rest — a break
  14. chest — of your body
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wound — an injury
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. date — the fruit
  23. chest — of your body
  24. date — on the calendar

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