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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bear — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — clever
  14. roll — a list
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cap — of ice
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wake — a trail
  20. perch — the fish
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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