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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hand — help
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. date — the fruit
  8. last — finally
  9. track — a path
  10. fine — high quality
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. squash — the sport
  13. last — to go on
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. last — final
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. squash — to crush
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. hand — in cards
  24. trunk — of a tree

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