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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. net — after costs
  3. march — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bat — the animal
  9. net — for catching
  10. march — the month
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. band — a music group
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a ring
  21. net — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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