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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cap — a lid
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. court — of a king
  10. press — to push
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cell — a phone
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ground — a position
  17. game — a match
  18. court — for sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — of law
  24. lie — an untruth

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