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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rash — hasty
  3. club — for dancing
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. can — a tin
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. club — for golf
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — a series
  17. cap — a hat
  18. club — a group
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. shower — rain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  24. shower — to wash

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