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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cell — a phone
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. snap — to click
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cap — a lid

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