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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: fork · coach · content · cell · mouse · date · cap · fine

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. content — happy
  3. fine — all right
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cap — of ice
  9. fine — high quality
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. date — the fruit
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cap — a hat
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. content — the amount
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. date — on the calendar

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