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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. object — a thing
  3. rest — a break
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. lean — thin
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. object — an aim
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. object — to protest
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. snap — to click

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