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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cap — a lid
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spell — letters
  12. cap — of ice
  13. present — a gift
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — not warm
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fall — the season
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cap — a hat

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