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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 124 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. staff — employees
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. rule — government
  5. cap — a lid
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. spring — the season
  8. staff — a stick
  9. cap — of ice
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — of water
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. staff — employees
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. coach — a trainer

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