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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. vault — a safe
  4. face — to point toward
  5. land — a country
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kid — child
  8. date — the fruit
  9. band — a ring
  10. cell — a phone
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. squash — to crush
  13. face — part of the head
  14. band — a music group
  15. land — to come down
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. land — ground
  18. cell — in biology
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. face — to confront
  22. kid — to tease
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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