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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. face — to point toward
  3. snap — to click
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. net — for catching
  7. court — for sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. net — in sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. deal — to handle
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. face — to confront
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — of law
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. court — of a king
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. face — part of the head
  24. net — after costs

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