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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — the tool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. shower — rain
  7. vault — a safe
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. cap — of ice
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. drill — army training
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cap — a lid
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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