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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. craft — boats
  7. hand — help
  8. pop — soda
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bass — the fish
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pop — music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bass — low music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. craft — a skill
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mark — a trace
  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