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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. court — for sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. court — of law
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. court — of a king
  20. cell — in biology
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fine — high quality

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