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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cap — a hat
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — to protest
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a ring
  16. spring — the season
  17. band — a music group
  18. kick — in football
  19. cap — a lid
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. cap — of ice

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