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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — for a lock
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to click
  11. key — in music
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. key — the most important part
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tear — from crying
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tear — to rip

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