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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cap — a lid
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. file — a tool
  7. row — a line
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bear — the animal
  10. season — of the year
  11. bat — the animal
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. row — to paddle
  15. file — a line of people
  16. spring — the season
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. track — a song
  21. file — a document
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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