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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. land — to come down
  4. cap — of ice
  5. spell — magic
  6. swing — music
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. swing — in golf
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. land — ground
  12. pit — in a race
  13. spell — letters
  14. land — a country
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pit — a hole
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spell — a short time
  24. trunk — of a tree

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