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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cap — a hat
  3. land — ground
  4. present — a gift
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. present — the time now
  7. spell — letters
  8. cap — of ice
  9. present — there
  10. face — part of the head
  11. land — a country
  12. spell — magic
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. face — to point toward
  16. land — to come down
  17. hand — in cards
  18. face — to confront
  19. cap — a lid
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pit — a hole
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pit — in a race

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