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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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Word bank
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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. face — to confront
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mug — a face
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pit — a hole
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mug — to rob
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bat — the animal

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