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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. hand — help
  5. present — a gift
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. present — the time now
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. plane — a tool
  16. present — there
  17. rash — a series
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cap — of ice
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pound — a weight
  24. plane — in geometry

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