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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bass — low music
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. present — the time now
  7. mate — to breed
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. present — a gift
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. spring — a coil
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. mate — a partner
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. present — there
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cap — a hat

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