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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. spring — of water
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. scale — in music
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — a coil
  11. capital — a city
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spring — the season
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lie — to recline
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cap — a lid
  24. prune — the fruit

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