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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cap — a lid
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — a hat
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — final
  10. kid — to tease
  11. land — a country
  12. track — a path
  13. last — finally
  14. cap — of ice
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kid — child
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. date — the fruit
  20. land — ground
  21. chip — for betting
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. track — to keep track
  24. land — to come down

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