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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — a video
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — final
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. last — to go on
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. nail — for a hammer

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