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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. swing — in golf
  3. face — to point toward
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. spring — of water
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pound — a weight
  13. face — to confront
  14. lean — to bend
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. face — part of the head
  17. swing — to play on
  18. press — to push
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. spring — a coil
  21. press — newspapers
  22. swing — music
  23. press — a publisher
  24. spring — the season

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