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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. march — music
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — of ice
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. toast — bread
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. pound — a weight
  21. court — of law
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. tear — to rip
  24. jam — a tight spot

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