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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. board — to get on
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. bark — to shout
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fall — the season
  18. board — a committee
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. march — music
  21. snap — to click
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cap — a hat
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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