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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cap — a lid
  10. kid — child
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bat — the animal
  20. capital — a city
  21. drill — army training
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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