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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rule — government
  3. degree — temperature
  4. land — to come down
  5. rule — a law
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. band — a music group
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. degree — an amount
  12. can — a tin
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. object — a thing
  16. land — a country
  17. can — to be able to
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — an aim
  20. date — the fruit
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a ring
  23. can — a tin
  24. object — to protest

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