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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cap — a lid
  4. last — finally
  5. present — a gift
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cap — of ice
  8. last — to go on
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. present — the time now
  11. cap — a hat
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. present — there
  18. last — final
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bark — to shout
  21. saw — the tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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