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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: arm · cap · pitch · date · shower · tear · spell · foot

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cap — of ice
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — a hat
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. date — the fruit
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. spell — magic
  23. foot — a measure
  24. date — on the calendar

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