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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mark — a grade
  7. spring — of water
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a trace
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cap — a lid
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — the season
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kick — a thrill

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