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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cap — of ice
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cap — a hat
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mate — to breed
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mate — a friend
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. net — for catching
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kick — in football
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mate — a partner
  16. net — in sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cap — a lid
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. net — after costs

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