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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. mug — a face
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bound — obliged
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mug — a cup
  12. content — happy
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. content — the amount
  16. swing — music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. swing — in golf
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cap — of ice
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. swing — to play on

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