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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. swing — in golf
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pit — a hole
  8. race — a contest
  9. swing — music
  10. race — humankind
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a tool
  13. fine — high quality
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cold — an illness
  16. file — a document
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — all right
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cap — a lid
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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