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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. roll — a list
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cap — a lid
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mug — to rob
  10. march — the month
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. date — the fruit
  14. club — for golf
  15. march — the month
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — music
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mug — a face
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cap — a hat

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