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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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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. cap — a lid
  9. tube — a container
  10. perch — the fish
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spell — letters
  14. rash — a series
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rush — hurry
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. can — a tin
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tube — the underground
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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