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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — a hat
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. bass — the fish
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bass — low music
  10. staff — a stick
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cap — of ice
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chest — a box
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. race — a contest
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — humankind
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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