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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. hand — help
  3. cap — of ice
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — finally
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — rain
  16. cap — a lid
  17. vault — a safe
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bulb — for light

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