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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: straw · date · ground · fall · kid · temple · cap · pop

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. pop — to visit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — to drop
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cap — a lid
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fall — to drop
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pop — soda
  20. ground — crushed
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pop — music
  24. straw — a straw man

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