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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. last — final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. spring — the season
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cell — in biology
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. key — in music
  15. last — finally
  16. press — a publisher
  17. spring — of water
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cap — of ice
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. cell — a phone
  24. last — to go 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