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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. lie — to recline
  3. content — happy
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. swing — in golf
  6. date — the fruit
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — in a road
  10. file — a tool
  11. swing — music
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. swing — to play on
  24. lie — an untruth

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