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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fine — high quality
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. saw — the tool
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. field — for sport
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fine — all right
  17. kid — to tease
  18. band — a music group
  19. field — farmland
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. field — a subject
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. band — a ring

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