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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — a lid
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spell — letters
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. spell — magic
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ground — the earth
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cell — a phone
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ground — a position
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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