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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cap — of ice
  5. current — happening now
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. current — of water
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cue — for pool
  17. current — electric
  18. game — a match
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cue — a hint
  22. chest — a box
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cap — a lid

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