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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. march — music
  3. bound — obliged
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. hand — help
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. rash — a series
  16. march — the month
  17. date — the fruit
  18. rash — hasty
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bound — certain

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