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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. deal — to handle
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cap — of ice
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. deal — a big deal

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