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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. swing — to play on
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. toast — bread
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. swing — in golf
  15. board — to get on
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hand — in cards
  19. board — a committee
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cap — of ice
  24. swing — music

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