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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spell — letters
  4. march — the month
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. band — a ring
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spell — magic
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — a short time
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — electricity
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — of a king
  21. cap — a lid
  22. band — a music group
  23. cap — of ice
  24. charge — in control

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