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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 124 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. hand — in cards
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. cap — of ice
  7. current — happening now
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. kick — in football
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cap — a lid
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. face — to confront
  17. band — a music group
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. face — part of the head
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a ring
  24. file — a document

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