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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 116 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. craft — boats
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. scale — in music
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cap — of ice
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. press — to push
  21. ball — a dance
  22. press — newspapers
  23. scale — size or range
  24. straw — a straw man

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