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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. field — a subject
  10. fine — high quality
  11. field — farmland
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cap — of ice
  15. file — a document
  16. field — for sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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