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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wake — a trail
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. field — for sport
  7. present — there
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — farmland
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. board — a committee
  19. field — a subject
  20. present — the time now
  21. cap — a hat
  22. date — the fruit
  23. present — a gift
  24. cap — a lid

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