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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. drill — army training
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — the tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. land — a country
  10. clip — to cut
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. drill — a practice
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — for paper
  17. roll — a cake
  18. present — the time now
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — there
  21. last — to go on
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cap — a lid
  24. present — a gift

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