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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: chest · temple · mark · date · racket · cap · bulb · file

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mark — a grade
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. date — the fruit
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — of your body
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. mark — a trace
  19. file — a document
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cap — a lid
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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