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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. court — for sport
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pound — a weight
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bulb — for light
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. lean — to bend
  18. row — a line
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cap — a lid
  24. shower — rain

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