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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mark — a grade
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. field — a subject
  7. swing — music
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — the amount
  14. swing — in golf
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. hand — help
  20. content — happy
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cap — of ice

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