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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. court — of a king
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — thin
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. spring — of water
  11. court — for sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. track — a path
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pitch — completely
  19. track — a song
  20. court — of law
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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