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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mug — a face
  4. craft — boats
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a skill
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. chair — a leader
  14. fall — the season
  15. mug — a cup
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cap — a lid
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. fall — to drop

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