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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 one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. can — a tin
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bore — to tire
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — rain
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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