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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. clip — for paper
  5. toast — bread
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. scale — in music
  14. clip — a video
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. ground — the earth
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. hide — to keep secret

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