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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. land — a country
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. lie — to recline
  6. charge — electricity
  7. hand — help
  8. band — a music group
  9. charge — a price
  10. cap — of ice
  11. charge — in control
  12. degree — from a university
  13. land — ground
  14. degree — temperature
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. band — a ring
  19. land — to come down
  20. rock — a stone
  21. hand — in cards
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cap — a lid

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