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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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. mark — a trace
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — help
  6. cue — for pool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cue — a hint
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cue — a signal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cap — of ice
  20. hand — in cards
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — to rip
  23. spring — of water
  24. bay — a horse colour

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