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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. court — of law
  3. face — to confront
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. face — to point toward
  9. march — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. cap — of ice
  12. can — a tin
  13. court — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — of a king
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. can — to be able to
  22. spring — of water
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cap — a lid

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