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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bore — to drill
  10. chair — a leader
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. current — happening now
  14. lean — thin
  15. face — to point toward
  16. current — of water
  17. bore — to tire
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. current — electric
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lean — to bend

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