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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. track — a song
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. track — a path
  10. wax — to grow
  11. track — to keep track
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. hand — help
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stand — to bear
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cap — of ice
  24. straw — dry grass

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