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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pop — to visit
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cap — a lid
  8. spell — letters
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pop — music
  15. chest — a box
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — soda
  19. spell — magic
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. spell — a short time
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cap — of ice
  24. wound — an injury

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