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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rush — hurry
  6. land — ground
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mug — a face
  14. cap — a hat
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. mug — to rob
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cap — of ice

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