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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. game — a match
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rash — a series
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. date — the fruit
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cell — a phone

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