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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spring — of water
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lie — to recline
  9. season — of the year
  10. chair — a leader
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ground — a position
  18. cap — a lid
  19. ground — crushed
  20. season — in sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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