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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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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: ball · present · saw · date · wind · chair · pop · race

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — a leader
  7. race — the arms race
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. ball — a great time
  10. race — humankind
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. present — there
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. saw — the tool
  16. present — the time now
  17. saw — the tool
  18. race — a contest
  19. pop — soda
  20. wind — moving air
  21. present — a gift
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pop — music
  24. date — on the calendar

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