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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. date — the fruit
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — to come down
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cap — of ice
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. land — ground
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. land — a country
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. date — on the calendar

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