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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cap — of ice
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. court — for sport
  17. clip — a video
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pop — music

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