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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cap — a lid
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chest — a box
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — to eat
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. wound — an injury

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