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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. ground — a position
  3. land — ground
  4. bass — low music
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rash — hasty
  8. land — a country
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. rash — a series
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cap — of ice
  20. ground — the earth
  21. land — to come down
  22. bulb — for light
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bulb — for light

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