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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cap — a hat
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bat — the animal
  11. can — to be able to
  12. kid — child
  13. cap — of ice
  14. can — a tin
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. cap — a lid
  19. capital — money
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. can — a tin
  24. wave — of the sea

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