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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bat — the animal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. key — in music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. pop — soda
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pop — to visit
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pop — music
  23. cap — a lid
  24. perch — the fish

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