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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. band — a music group
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. march — the month
  6. court — for sport
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. court — of a king
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pop — music
  16. march — music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. band — a ring
  20. court — of law
  21. field — a subject
  22. date — the fruit
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — soda

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