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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. current — of water
  6. hand — help
  7. current — electric
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. current — happening now
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hand — in cards
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. march — music

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