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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spring — of water
  3. cap — a lid
  4. scale — in music
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. rest — what's left
  8. scale — size or range
  9. saw — the tool
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rest — a break
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rest — what's left
  15. court — for sport
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. spring — the season
  18. cap — of ice
  19. saw — the tool
  20. roll — a cake
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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