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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 best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. file — a document
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — the animal
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. date — the fruit
  13. cap — of ice
  14. plane — a tool
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. file — a line of people
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. file — a tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. branch — a division
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. cap — a lid

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