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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. cap — of ice
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bound — certain
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bound — tied together
  14. object — an aim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. staff — employees
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chest — a box

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