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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: bat · date · hand · cap · spring · fall · squash · jam

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cap — a lid
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. date — the fruit
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. squash — to crush
  8. spring — of water
  9. hand — help
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fall — the season
  20. hand — in cards
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spring — the season
  23. cap — a hat
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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