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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. foot — a measure
  4. rock — a stone
  5. ground — crushed
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rock — music
  8. cell — a phone
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. field — farmland
  11. ground — a position
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chest — a box
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cap — of ice
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — a subject
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cap — a lid
  23. field — for sport
  24. leaves — to go away

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