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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. sharp — clever
  4. march — the month
  5. current — electric
  6. snap — to click
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. current — happening now
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a lid
  11. face — to point toward
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bark — to shout
  14. march — music
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. current — of water
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cap — of ice

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