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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. shower — to wash
  3. band — a ring
  4. cell — in biology
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. shower — rain
  10. band — a music group
  11. cell — a phone
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cap — a lid
  14. ground — a position
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ground — the earth

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