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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. ground — a position
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cap — of ice
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. ground — the earth
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. ground — crushed
  11. snap — to click
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. lean — thin
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. land — a country
  19. lean — to bend
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bulb — for light
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. land — ground

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