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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: band · degree · mate · date · bank · face · prune · rule

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bank — for money
  4. mate — to breed
  5. prune — to trim
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. face — to confront
  9. mate — a partner
  10. date — the fruit
  11. rule — government
  12. bank — for money
  13. face — part of the head
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. band — a ring
  16. rule — a law
  17. prune — to trim
  18. band — a music group
  19. bank — of a river
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mate — a friend

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