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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — in sport
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. present — a gift
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. net — for catching
  15. hand — in cards
  16. present — the time now
  17. rule — a law
  18. hand — help
  19. rule — government
  20. net — after costs
  21. present — there
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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