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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 was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. dip — to sink
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. net — for catching
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — of your body
  15. net — in sport
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chest — a box
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. date — on the calendar

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