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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — of ice
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — a hat
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. scale — size or range
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — to point toward

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