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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. file — a tool
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cap — of ice
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. mark — a grade
  14. craft — boats
  15. cap — a lid
  16. craft — a skill
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. file — a document
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. chest — a box

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