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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mate — a partner
  4. staff — employees
  5. mate — a friend
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a lid
  12. staff — employees
  13. cap — of ice
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cap — a hat
  16. land — ground
  17. present — there
  18. cold — not warm
  19. staff — a stick
  20. present — a gift
  21. mate — to breed
  22. date — the fruit
  23. present — the time now
  24. hide — animal skin

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