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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pop — music
  3. roll — a cake
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pop — soda
  7. race — humankind
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bound — certain
  14. race — a contest
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chest — a box
  20. roll — a list
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bound — obliged
  24. roll — on a roll

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