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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. fine — high quality
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. season — in sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ground — a position
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fine — all right
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cap — of ice
  17. track — a song
  18. date — the fruit
  19. track — a path
  20. ground — crushed
  21. hand — help
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ground — the earth
  24. date — on the calendar

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