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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mug — a cup
  7. chest — of your body
  8. field — farmland
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. can — a tin
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. can — to be able to
  15. chest — a box
  16. rock — music
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. can — a tin
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. cap — of ice
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — a subject

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