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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. kid — to tease
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. craft — boats
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. kid — child
  8. fork — in a road
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. roll — a list
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cap — a lid
  24. roll — a cake

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