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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — moving air
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cap — of ice
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pit — a hole
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ground — the earth
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. pit — in a race
  24. face — to confront

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