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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: shower · last · track · present · land · cap · wave · date

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. shower — to wash
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — of ice
  6. last — finally
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. present — there
  9. last — final
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. present — the time now
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. land — ground
  15. track — to keep track
  16. present — a gift
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. track — a path
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. shower — rain
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. track — a song

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