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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: fine · club · date · game · last · ground · cap · land

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. last — to go on
  6. club — for dancing
  7. game — wild animals
  8. land — ground
  9. game — a match
  10. land — to come down
  11. club — a group
  12. ground — the earth
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — crushed
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. ground — a position
  17. fine — high quality
  18. last — finally
  19. land — a country
  20. club — for golf
  21. cap — of ice
  22. fine — all right
  23. last — final
  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