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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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 — of ice
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cap — a lid
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rock — a stone
  7. march — music
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bore — to drill
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rock — music
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. march — the month
  15. bore — to tire
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a hat
  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