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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. board — to get on
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — the month
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. date — the fruit
  7. land — a country
  8. shower — to wash
  9. land — ground
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. drill — the tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. land — to come down
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. drill — a practice
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. march — music
  23. drill — army training
  24. march — the month

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