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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. spell — a short time
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — wild animals
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. spell — letters
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fine — high quality
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spell — magic

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