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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. ground — a position
  5. pop — music
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pit — in a race
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. march — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. march — the month
  15. pop — to visit
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kick — in football
  21. march — the month
  22. pit — a hole
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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