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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bass — low music
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. fine — all right
  5. ground — a position
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — to tease
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. toast — bread
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chest — a box
  24. bass — the fish

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