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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. cap — a hat
  4. current — electric
  5. march — the month
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kick — in football
  9. chest — a box
  10. vault — a safe
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cap — a lid
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chest — of your body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. march — the month
  19. current — happening now
  20. march — music
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. current — of water
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kick — with a leg

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