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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. ground — a position
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ground — the earth
  10. court — for sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. land — a country
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. chest — a box
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — crushed

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