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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mug — to rob
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bass — low music
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mug — a cup
  12. field — farmland
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mug — a face
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. bass — the fish
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chest — a box
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cap — of ice

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