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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bore — to drill
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bore — to tire
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — of ice
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — from a university
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bass — low music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. prune — to trim

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