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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. shower — rain
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wind — moving air
  12. current — electric
  13. current — of water
  14. shower — to wash
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. scale — in music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cap — a lid
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. current — happening now

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