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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. march — the month
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. charge — electricity
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fall — the season
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — low music
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. fall — to drop
  18. charge — a price
  19. march — music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. charge — in control

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