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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fall — the season
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cue — a signal
  10. face — to confront
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — to go on
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cue — a hint
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cue — for pool
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. face — part of the head
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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