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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tube — a container
  7. present — the time now
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — in football
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cap — of ice

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