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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. date — the fruit
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — to tease
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. shower — to wash
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. current — of water
  19. prune — to trim
  20. current — happening now
  21. shower — rain
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. current — electric

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