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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. file — a line of people
  4. court — for sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. court — of law
  7. cap — of ice
  8. file — a tool
  9. last — final
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pop — to visit
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cap — a lid
  16. court — of a king
  17. pop — soda
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cap — a hat
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pop — music
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. date — the fruit
  24. last — finally

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