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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. fall — the season
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fall — to drop
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cap — a lid
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. race — humankind
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. present — there
  19. field — farmland
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. lie — to recline

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