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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cap — a lid
  4. present — the time now
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bore — to drill
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — moving air
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — child
  14. present — there
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bore — to tire
  18. cap — of ice

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