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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — the month
  5. shower — rain
  6. spring — of water
  7. cap — of ice
  8. lie — to recline
  9. spring — the season
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. current — happening now
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cap — a lid
  16. current — of water
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. current — electric
  20. spring — a coil
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — to wash

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