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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mug — a face
  3. court — of law
  4. mug — a cup
  5. spring — a coil
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. spring — the season
  10. clip — for paper
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spring — of water
  23. cap — a lid
  24. clip — to cut

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