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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: cap · rest · band · club · calf · date · fine · chest

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. band — a ring
  3. cap — of ice
  4. date — the fruit
  5. club — for golf
  6. rest — what's left
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cap — a hat
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fine — all right
  16. chest — a box
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cap — a lid
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — of your body
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. band — a music group
  24. calf — a young animal

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