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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cap — of ice
  10. ground — a position
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wake — a trail
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — to visit
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. sharp — exactly

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