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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cap — of ice
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. track — a path
  8. current — happening now
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. content — happy
  12. current — electric
  13. cap — a hat
  14. current — of water
  15. track — a song
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cap — a lid
  19. date — the fruit
  20. track — to keep track
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. game — wild animals

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