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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mate — to breed
  3. land — ground
  4. season — in sport
  5. file — a tool
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. season — of the year
  10. bass — the fish
  11. land — to come down
  12. mate — a partner
  13. file — a document
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — low music
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mate — a friend

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