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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 slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. lean — to bend
  3. net — after costs
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. land — ground
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. date — the fruit
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. land — a country
  16. net — for catching
  17. band — a music group
  18. net — in sport
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. lean — thin
  21. land — to come down
  22. band — a ring
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. racket — for tennis

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