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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cell — in biology
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cap — of ice
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. file — a tool
  14. capital — money
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. can — a tin
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bat — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. file — a document
  24. plane — an aircraft

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