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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 116 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. spell — a short time
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. row — a line
  7. cap — a lid
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. spell — letters
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cap — of ice
  14. net — for catching
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — to paddle
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. net — after costs
  20. spell — magic
  21. net — in sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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