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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a music group
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. lean — to bend
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. dip — to sink
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. band — a ring
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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