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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. charge — a price
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. spring — of water
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. field — farmland
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mine — for digging
  13. field — a subject
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cap — of ice
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. spring — the season
  18. charge — in control
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cap — a lid
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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