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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. land — to come down
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rest — a break
  17. land — a country
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. land — ground
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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