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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: date · wave · prune · cap · mark · pitcher · tear · fall

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cap — a lid
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cap — a hat
  14. date — the fruit
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fall — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mark — a grade
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitcher — a jug

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