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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. spell — magic
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. field — farmland
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — moving air
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bat — the animal
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. field — a subject
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. field — for sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spell — a short time

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