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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lie — to recline
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. content — happy
  7. spring — the season
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — a coil
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bat — the animal
  17. capital — a city
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — money
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. content — the amount
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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