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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rock — a stone
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mug — a face
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. rock — music
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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