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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — happy
  3. last — finally
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wax — to grow
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — an amount
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. content — the amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. last — to go on
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rest — a break
  18. last — final
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cap — of ice
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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