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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bass — low music
  3. kick — in football
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. race — humankind
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. chest — a box
  13. cap — of ice
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bass — the fish
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. straw — a straw man

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