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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cap — a lid
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fall — the season
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — to paddle
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cap — of ice
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. scale — size or range
  21. lie — to recline
  22. fall — to drop
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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