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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rash — a series
  5. clip — a video
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. craft — boats
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wax — to grow
  17. date — the fruit
  18. hand — help
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — all right
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. arm — part of the body

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