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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. cap — a lid
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hand — help
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pop — soda
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cell — a phone
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pop — music
  14. board — to get on
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. hand — in cards
  17. board — a committee
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — of ice
  23. nail — on a finger
  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