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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cap — a hat
  3. kid — child
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mug — a face
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mug — to rob
  10. lean — to bend
  11. kid — to tease
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mug — a cup
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — a lid
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chair — to sit on

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