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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 124 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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. foot — a measure
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. toast — bread
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. staff — employees
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. trunk — of a tree

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