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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. track — to keep track
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — a lid
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. field — for sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. band — a music group
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. content — the amount
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. field — a subject
  16. cap — of ice
  17. track — a path
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. content — happy
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — the season
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. track — a song
  24. band — a ring

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