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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: last · shower · chest · date · stick · cap · pit · scale

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. date — the fruit
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. pit — a hole
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. chest — a box
  11. last — to go on
  12. pit — in a race
  13. shower — rain
  14. scale — size or range
  15. last — final
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chest — of your body
  19. scale — in music
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. cap — of ice
  24. last — finally

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