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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. row — a line
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rash — a series
  14. bat — the animal
  15. row — to paddle
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cap — a lid
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  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