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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mate — a partner
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — to breed
  9. net — in sport
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. face — to confront
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to click
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. cap — a lid
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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