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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spell — magic
  6. track — a song
  7. file — a tool
  8. date — the fruit
  9. race — the arms race
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. deal — to handle
  12. spell — letters
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. race — a contest
  16. cap — a lid
  17. track — to keep track
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. race — humankind
  20. file — a document
  21. track — a path
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cap — a hat
  24. spell — a short time

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