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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. charge — a price
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. scale — in music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. scale — size or range
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. charge — electricity
  18. swing — music
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chest — a box
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. charge — in control
  23. shower — rain
  24. club — for golf

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