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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. cap — of ice
  4. object — a thing
  5. clip — for paper
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cap — a lid
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. object — an aim
  15. cap — a hat
  16. mark — a trace
  17. squash — the sport
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. object — to protest
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. mark — a grade
  24. clip — a video

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