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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chip — to eat
  4. race — a contest
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. row — a line
  10. race — humankind
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chip — for betting
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — the arms race
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fall — the season
  24. cap — a lid

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