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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cap — a lid
  4. charge — in control
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. tear — to rip
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. charge — a price
  10. pit — in a race
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — humankind
  13. charge — electricity
  14. file — a tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pit — a hole
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. race — a contest
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. file — a document

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