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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wake — a trail
  3. present — the time now
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pop — music
  9. present — there
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pop — soda
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. rush — hurry
  16. last — final
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. last — to go on
  22. cold — an illness
  23. last — finally
  24. present — a gift

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