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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pop — soda
  3. wake — a trail
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. season — of the year
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pop — music
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pop — to visit
  11. season — in sport
  12. craft — a skill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cap — of ice
  17. tear — to rip
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cap — a hat
  22. craft — boats
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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