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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. suit — clothes
  3. suit — to fit
  4. pit — a hole
  5. snap — to click
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — for money
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mine — for digging
  12. present — a gift
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bank — for money
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — of ice
  17. present — there
  18. pit — in a race
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. suit — in cards
  21. cap — a lid
  22. present — the time now
  23. bank — of a river
  24. mine — belonging to me

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