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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mate — a partner
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cap — a lid
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pop — music
  9. cap — of ice
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pop — soda
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pit — a hole
  15. suit — clothes
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. suit — in cards
  20. pop — to visit
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. mate — to breed

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