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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: drill · fan · mine · cue · hand · date · cap · squash

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cap — of ice
  3. drill — army training
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. hand — help
  8. cue — a signal
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cue — a hint
  11. mine — for digging
  12. drill — the tool
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cue — for pool
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cap — a hat
  20. date — the fruit
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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