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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — a video
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. land — to come down
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. spring — a coil
  19. land — ground
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stand — to bear
  22. land — a country
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spring — of water

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