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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. club — for golf
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. shower — rain
  13. fall — the season
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. club — a group
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. season — of the year

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