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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. suit — in cards
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. suit — clothes
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mug — a cup
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cap — of ice
  15. lie — to recline
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mug — a face
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mug — to rob

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