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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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cap — a lid
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. present — a gift
  12. last — finally
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — a thing
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. object — an aim
  21. tear — from crying
  22. present — the time now
  23. last — to go on
  24. present — there

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