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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. march — music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — of a king
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bank — for money
  9. court — of law
  10. cap — of ice
  11. land — ground
  12. march — the month
  13. land — to come down
  14. bank — of a river
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. land — a country
  17. rash — hasty
  18. court — for sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bank — for money
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — a series

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