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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. kid — child
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. suit — in cards
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. clip — for paper
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. clip — a video
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. field — farmland
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — a subject
  18. clip — to cut
  19. board — a committee
  20. suit — to fit
  21. board — to get on
  22. cap — a lid
  23. field — for sport
  24. racket — for tennis

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