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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bore — to tire
  3. face — part of the head
  4. staff — employees
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. staff — employees
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pop — music
  10. face — to confront
  11. bore — to drill
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. face — to point toward
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cold — an illness
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the sport
  21. staff — a stick
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. scale — for weighing

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