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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. file — a tool
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pass — a permit
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. file — a document
  14. cap — a lid
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fork — in a road
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rest — what's left
  21. game — a match
  22. rest — a break
  23. mine — for digging
  24. file — a line of people

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