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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. deal — to handle
  5. cap — a lid
  6. season — of the year
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. row — a line
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rash — a series
  24. row — to paddle

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