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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cap — a lid
  5. hand — help
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stand — to bear
  23. cap — a hat
  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