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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cap — a hat
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tube — the underground
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. ground — crushed
  18. shower — rain
  19. ground — a position
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. tube — a container
  24. hand — in cards

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