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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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Word bank
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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: board · file · race · season · date · cap · last · pop

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. date — the fruit
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pop — to visit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. race — humankind
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. board — a committee
  9. file — a document
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. cap — a lid
  13. board — to get on
  14. season — in sport
  15. file — a tool
  16. pop — soda
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. race — the arms race
  19. last — finally
  20. file — a line of people
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. season — of the year
  23. cap — a hat
  24. pop — music

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