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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. last — to go on
  3. cap — a hat
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. club — a group
  6. foot — a measure
  7. club — for dancing
  8. last — final
  9. cap — of ice
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — for golf
  16. last — finally
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body

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