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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. land — to come down
  3. swing — in golf
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. band — a music group
  8. land — ground
  9. band — a ring
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. swing — to play on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lie — to recline
  18. tear — from crying
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. swing — music
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mate — a partner
  23. land — a country
  24. tear — to rip

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