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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: object · season · date · degree · fine · pass · chest · clip

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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. clip — a video
  4. fine — all right
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. object — an aim
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pass — a permit
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. object — to protest
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — from a university
  16. season — in sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. object — a thing
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. date — the fruit
  24. season — of the year

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