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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — to come down
  4. cap — a hat
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. current — of water
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. current — electric
  9. land — ground
  10. current — happening now
  11. cap — a lid
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cell — in biology
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cell — a phone
  24. land — a country

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