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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. 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 hat
  2. ground — a position
  3. kid — child
  4. cap — a lid
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. file — a tool
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cap — of ice
  14. file — a document
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ground — crushed
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fine — all right
  21. ground — the earth
  22. hand — help
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. 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