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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. stand — to bear
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kid — child
  18. cap — a lid

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