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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tube — a container
  3. clip — a video
  4. date — the fruit
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bound — obliged
  8. board — to get on
  9. bound — certain
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. last — final
  15. board — a committee
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bound — tied together
  18. last — finally
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. last — to go on
  21. pound — a weight
  22. clip — to cut
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wound — an injury

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