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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tube — the underground
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pop — music
  15. perch — the fish
  16. date — the fruit
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tube — a container
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — a position
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. perch — for a bird
  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