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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cap — of ice
  4. court — for sport
  5. last — finally
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cue — for pool
  11. court — of a king
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mark — a trace
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — rain
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rock — music
  21. court — of law
  22. mark — a grade
  23. rock — a stone
  24. last — to go on

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