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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. field — farmland
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. field — a subject
  5. content — the amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. date — the fruit
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. vault — a safe
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. field — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. fine — high quality
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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