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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. kid — child
  3. fall — to drop
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kid — to tease
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. fall — to drop
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cap — a lid
  14. lean — to bend
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fall — the season
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. cap — of ice
  22. lean — thin
  23. snap — to click
  24. lean — to rest against

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