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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. present — the time now
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cap — of ice
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cue — a hint
  9. saw — the tool
  10. present — a gift
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cue — a signal
  14. file — a tool
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. present — there
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cap — a lid
  19. tear — to rip
  20. dip — to sink
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cue — for pool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. file — a document

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