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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rush — hurry
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — a face
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. stock — goods
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — for sport
  16. drill — the tool
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mug — to rob
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stock — shares
  24. arm — part of the body

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