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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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 hat
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. field — for sport
  5. present — there
  6. shower — to wash
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — a lid
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tube — a container
  12. stand — to bear
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. present — a gift
  16. tube — the underground
  17. shower — rain
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. present — the time now
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. face — to point toward
  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