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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a dance
  5. track — to keep track
  6. scale — in music
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. can — a tin
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spell — magic
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. spell — letters
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cold — not warm
  18. track — a path
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. spell — a short time
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. track — a song
  24. scale — for weighing

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