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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. press — to push
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kid — child
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. band — a music group
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cell — a phone
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. band — a ring
  18. press — newspapers

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