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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  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. charge — electricity
  3. cell — a phone
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cap — a lid
  6. hand — help
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. present — there
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. field — for sport
  12. present — the time now
  13. field — farmland
  14. charge — in control
  15. rest — a break
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hand — in cards
  19. field — a subject
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. charge — a price
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pass — a permit
  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