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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. tear — to rip
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. scale — in music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cue — for pool
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cold — an illness
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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