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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cap — of ice
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. swing — in golf
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. swing — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. last — to go on
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. last — final
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. capital — money
  19. last — finally
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cap — a lid
  22. scale — in music
  23. capital — a city
  24. scale — for weighing

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