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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mug — to rob
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bass — low music
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mug — a face
  8. swing — music
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tube — a container
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. toast — bread
  18. cap — of ice
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. swing — to play on
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tube — the underground
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bass — the fish

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