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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cap — of ice
  4. hand — help
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rock — music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — in cards
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. press — newspapers
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wound — an injury
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — for baseball

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