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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. ground — a position
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ground — crushed
  17. date — the fruit
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rule — government
  21. shower — to wash
  22. spring — of water
  23. rule — a law
  24. spring — the season

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