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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. file — a tool
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. march — music
  11. shower — rain
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cap — of ice
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fine — all right
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fine — high quality

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