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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pit — a hole
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — a song
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chest — a box
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. shower — rain
  18. cap — a lid
  19. track — a path
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. track — to keep track
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cabinet — ministers

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