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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spring — a coil
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. race — a contest
  5. bound — certain
  6. spring — the season
  7. cap — of ice
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cap — a lid
  10. spring — of water
  11. dip — to sink
  12. race — the arms race
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bound — obliged
  16. swing — music
  17. plane — a tool
  18. swing — to play on
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. hand — help
  21. race — humankind
  22. swing — in golf
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bound — tied together

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