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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. ground — a position
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a tool
  8. cap — of ice
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pit — a hole
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. staff — employees
  18. ground — the earth
  19. file — a document
  20. staff — a stick
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cap — a lid
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pit — in a race

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