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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. net — in sport
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. net — after costs
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rule — government
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — for catching
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — a law
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bowl — a football final

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