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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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 lid
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — a hat
  5. net — after costs
  6. rule — a law
  7. fine — all right
  8. clip — to cut
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rule — government
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. net — for catching
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. clip — a video
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. clip — for paper
  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