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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. court — of a king
  6. pit — a hole
  7. saw — the tool
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. press — to push
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. court — of law
  19. snap — to click
  20. bass — the fish
  21. court — for sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cap — of ice

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