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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. ground — crushed
  3. suit — in cards
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tube — the underground
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. suit — to fit
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — a lid
  13. tube — a container
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cap — of ice
  16. suit — clothes
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ground — the earth
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — a position
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. fan — a supporter

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