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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cap — a hat
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. current — happening now
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. current — electric
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. current — of water
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pound — a weight
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cap — a lid
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — help
  24. pound — for dogs

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