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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. court — for sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. court — of a king
  13. hand — help
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. court — of law
  20. kid — child
  21. game — a match
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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