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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cap — of ice
  5. court — of law
  6. race — the arms race
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cap — a hat
  10. race — a contest
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — for sport
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. saw — the tool
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. scale — size or range
  17. court — of a king
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. scale — in music
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. race — humankind
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. saw — the tool

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