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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rest — a break
  9. race — a contest
  10. rest — what's left
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. race — the arms race
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — a box
  21. perch — the fish
  22. game — a match
  23. cap — a hat
  24. perch — for a bird

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