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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: bowl · track · cell · degree · fine · cold · present · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. date — the fruit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. degree — an amount
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fine — high quality
  11. track — a path
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. present — the time now
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — to keep track
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fine — all right
  21. present — a gift
  22. cold — not warm
  23. present — there
  24. track — a song

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