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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. present — the time now
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. march — music
  9. court — for sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pop — music
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. present — a gift
  17. squash — to crush
  18. date — the fruit
  19. squash — the sport
  20. rush — hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — soda
  23. present — there
  24. march — the month

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