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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 120 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. ground — crushed
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cap — of ice
  12. march — the month
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. ground — a position
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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