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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.

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: land · season · bat · present · plane · date · cap · rest

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. season — of the year
  3. present — the time now
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. season — in sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rest — what's left
  13. present — a gift
  14. plane — a tool
  15. land — a country
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cap — a hat
  18. present — there
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cap — a lid
  21. land — ground
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. season — to add flavour

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