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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lean — thin
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. scale — in music
  9. mark — a trace
  10. lean — to bend
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stand — to bear
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mark — a grade
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cap — of ice

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