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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fall — the season
  3. cap — a lid
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cap — a hat
  7. race — humankind
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. capital — money
  18. tear — to rip

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