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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: date · fork · pit · last · shower · prune · cap · bowl

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. last — final
  3. pit — in a race
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cap — a hat
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cap — of ice
  11. date — the fruit
  12. shower — rain
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fork — in a road
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bowl — a football final

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