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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 116 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. file — a line of people
  4. object — an aim
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pit — in a race
  7. sharp — clever
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. object — to protest
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bat — the animal
  16. file — a tool
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a document
  19. object — a thing
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pit — a hole
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bat — in an idiom

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