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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bound — certain
  6. ground — a position
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. saw — the tool
  9. race — the arms race
  10. date — the fruit
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. saw — the tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. band — a ring
  21. bound — tied together
  22. band — a music group
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. race — humankind

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