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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. field — for sport
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rush — hurry
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. field — farmland
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. field — a subject
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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