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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. land — a country
  6. ball — a dance
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rule — a law
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rule — government
  15. lean — thin
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. land — ground
  22. ball — a great time
  23. lean — to bend
  24. date — the fruit

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