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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. can — a tin
  3. cap — a lid
  4. land — to come down
  5. bore — to drill
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — the animal
  21. land — a country
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. land — ground
  24. tear — from crying

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