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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bat — the animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. last — finally
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. last — final
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. sharp — clever
  12. land — a country
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pound — a weight
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cap — a lid
  22. land — ground
  23. last — to go on
  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