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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bass — low music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rule — government
  6. bear — the animal
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pitch — completely
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. swing — music
  19. cap — a lid
  20. game — a match
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rule — a law
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. game — wild animals

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