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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: date · coach · kid · key · bulb · tear · cap · dip

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. kid — to tease
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cap — of ice
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. key — in music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. key — the most important part
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — from crying
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bulb — for light
  17. tear — to rip
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — child
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bulb — for light
  24. coach — a trainer

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