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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. stock — shares
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stock — goods
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fine — high quality
  9. shower — rain
  10. date — the fruit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. squash — the sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fine — all right
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. squash — to crush

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