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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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chip — to eat
  8. shower — rain
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cap — of ice
  11. swing — music
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mug — to rob
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. swing — to play on
  20. mug — a face
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mug — a cup
  24. pit — a hole

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