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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. date — the fruit
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lean — thin
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — an amount
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spring — of water
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bear — the animal

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