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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bass — the fish
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a lid
  10. tube — a container
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. march — the month
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. march — music
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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