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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. staff — employees
  3. rest — a break
  4. spell — magic
  5. staff — employees
  6. tube — a container
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spell — letters
  9. last — finally
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rest — what's left
  12. staff — a stick
  13. last — to go on
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. last — final

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