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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — the time now
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. field — for sport
  6. date — the fruit
  7. content — happy
  8. present — there
  9. content — the amount
  10. field — a subject
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mate — a partner
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mate — to breed
  20. field — farmland
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mate — a friend
  23. snap — to click
  24. cap — a hat

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