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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. band — a music group
  4. date — the fruit
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. ground — crushed
  7. key — the most important part
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cap — a hat
  10. band — a ring
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cap — of ice
  15. ground — a position
  16. key — in music
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. key — for a lock
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — music
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pitch — completely
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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