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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mug — to rob
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mug — a face

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