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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: cap · firm · rash · race · scale · date · bound · shower

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. firm — steady
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. scale — in music
  6. firm — decided
  7. cap — of ice
  8. firm — a company
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. race — a contest
  15. scale — size or range
  16. shower — rain
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bound — obliged
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bound — certain
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cap — a lid

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