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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. file — a tool
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fall — to drop
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — steady
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. toast — bread
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cap — a hat
  13. date — the fruit
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. file — a line of people
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. file — a document
  23. firm — decided
  24. fall — the season

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