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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: fan · cap · bat · rush · trunk · fork · date · pound

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cap — a hat
  17. fork — in a road
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bat — the animal
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. date — the fruit

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