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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. content — happy
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rest — a break
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. current — electric
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. current — of water
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — for digging
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. current — happening now
  24. mine — an explosive

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