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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: cold · date · rush · lean · cell · key · ball · capital

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. key — in music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rush — hurry
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. lean — thin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. lean — to bend
  22. key — the most important part
  23. date — the fruit
  24. cell — a phone

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