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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rest — a break
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rest — what's left
  5. board — a committee
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. board — to get on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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