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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. fall — to drop
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cap — of ice
  7. file — a tool
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. season — in sport
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. season — of the year
  12. spell — letters
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mug — to rob
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spell — magic
  18. fall — the season
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mug — a cup
  21. spell — a short time
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — to add flavour

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