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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cap — of ice
  4. kid — to tease
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. fine — all right
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pound — a weight
  14. kid — child
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pound — to hit hard

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