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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. prune — to trim
  3. toast — bread
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. cap — a hat
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pit — a hole
  9. face — to confront
  10. court — of law
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pit — in a race
  13. roll — a cake
  14. saw — the tool
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. court — for sport
  17. roll — a list
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — to trim
  20. face — part of the head
  21. court — of a king
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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