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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. can — a tin
  3. cap — a lid
  4. can — to be able to
  5. toast — bread
  6. shower — rain
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chest — a box
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. cap — of ice
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. can — a tin
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cap — a hat
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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