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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. net — for catching
  5. season — of the year
  6. chair — a leader
  7. charge — electricity
  8. net — in sport
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a document
  14. charge — in control
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. season — in sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. charge — a price
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. tear — to rip
  21. file — a tool
  22. net — after costs
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cap — a lid

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