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

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. toast — bread
  3. net — after costs
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. cap — a lid
  10. net — for catching
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. staff — a stick
  13. chest — of your body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. net — in sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chest — a box

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