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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cell — a phone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. roll — a cake
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. roll — a list
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pit — in a race
  10. press — newspapers
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. press — to push
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cap — of ice
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. pit — a hole
  19. content — happy
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. content — the amount
  22. cell — in biology
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cap — a lid

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