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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. dip — to sink
  3. cap — a hat
  4. roll — a cake
  5. cap — of ice
  6. track — a song
  7. cap — a lid
  8. track — a path
  9. spring — the season
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. spring — a coil
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. roll — a list
  15. spring — of water
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stand — to bear
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. track — to keep track
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a great time

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