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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. staff — employees
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cap — a lid
  8. ground — a position
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. rash — a series
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. file — a document
  20. staff — a stick
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. charge — electricity
  23. staff — employees
  24. nail — for a hammer

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