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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bat — the animal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rest — a break
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pit — a hole
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mate — a friend
  16. date — the fruit
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — child
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mate — to breed

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