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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · cabinet · date · kid · spell · cold · track · pitcher

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — magic
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. track — a song
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — a path
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cold — an illness
  18. club — for golf
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. club — a group
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spell — letters
  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