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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · cap · rule · cold · date · bay

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rule — government
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. rule — a law
  17. date — the fruit
  18. cold — an illness

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