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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fall — the season
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cap — a hat
  11. file — a document
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wax — to grow
  15. land — a country
  16. fall — to drop
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — ground
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — child
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — to come down

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