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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. cap — a lid
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rash — a series
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bat — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitch — a sports field

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