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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 124 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. staff — employees
  3. field — farmland
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cap — of ice
  6. chip — to eat
  7. staff — a stick
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. staff — employees
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cap — a lid
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mark — a trace
  23. chip — for betting
  24. mark — a grade

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