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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rock — music
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bulb — for light
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — tied together
  8. club — a group
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. file — a document
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bound — certain
  13. file — a line of people
  14. club — for golf
  15. bound — obliged
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mug — a face
  24. rock — a stone

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