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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pit — a hole
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — to come from
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. kid — child
  8. club — a group
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pit — in a race
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. kid — to tease
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cap — of ice
  20. club — for golf
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. craft — a handicraft

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