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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chest — of your body
  4. race — a contest
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chest — a box
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. race — humankind

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