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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cap — a hat
  3. court — for sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. last — finally
  7. staff — employees
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. scale — in music
  11. cap — of ice
  12. last — to go on
  13. dip — to sink
  14. court — of a king
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — size or range
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chip — for betting
  21. court — of law
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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