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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spell — letters
  3. face — part of the head
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. face — to confront
  9. band — a ring
  10. spell — a short time
  11. clip — for paper
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spell — magic
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cap — of ice
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. clip — a video
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. coach — a trainer

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