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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 116 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rest — a break
  6. plane — a tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. fall — the season
  9. spell — letters
  10. field — for sport
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. field — farmland
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. field — a subject
  15. cap — a lid
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. spell — magic
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rest — what's left
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. spell — a short time
  24. lash — an eyelash

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