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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 124 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spring — the season
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fine — high quality
  7. mate — a friend
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fine — all right
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. mate — a partner
  20. spring — of water
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bulb — for light

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