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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 124 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spell — a short time
  3. row — a line
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — of ice
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. spell — letters
  9. field — farmland
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — magic
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. cap — a lid
  22. field — for sport
  23. can — a tin
  24. racket — for tennis

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