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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: fork · cold · capital · cap · drill · saw · date · jam

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cap — of ice
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fork — in a road
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cold — not warm
  19. drill — army training
  20. capital — a city
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. capital — money
  23. saw — the tool
  24. jam — in traffic

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