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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fall — to drop
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fall — the season
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. dip — to sink
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. capital — a city
  14. squash — the sport
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — money
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. squash — the vegetable

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