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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. march — the month
  3. plane — a tool
  4. rash — a series
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — child
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. rash — hasty
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — a video
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stand — to bear
  24. march — music

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