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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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468
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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. clip — a video
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. prune — to trim
  6. craft — boats
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cap — a lid
  9. kid — to tease
  10. clip — for paper
  11. prune — to trim
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cap — of ice
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. craft — a skill
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. kid — child
  20. dip — to sink
  21. fall — the season
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. craft — a handicraft

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