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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. net — in sport
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. ground — a position
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — for catching
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. squash — to crush
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. net — after costs
  13. cap — a lid
  14. craft — boats
  15. file — a tool
  16. craft — a skill
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chest — a box
  19. cap — of ice
  20. ground — crushed
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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