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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cue — a signal
  3. net — for catching
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. club — for dancing
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. club — for golf
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cue — for pool
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. club — a group
  24. cue — a hint

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