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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · pop · game · pit · stand · plane · cold · wind

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. game — wild animals
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pit — a hole
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. date — the fruit
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — soda
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stand — to bear
  18. game — a match
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wind — to turn a key

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