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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. track — a path
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. clip — to cut
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. deal — to handle
  11. track — to keep track
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. hand — help
  14. track — a song
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rash — hasty
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. clip — a video
  20. cap — a lid
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cap — of ice
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to click

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