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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cap — a hat
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — not warm
  6. object — an aim
  7. sharp — clever
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — of water
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cap — a lid
  19. shower — rain
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. object — to protest
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spring — the season

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