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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 120 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 the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fall — the season
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. content — happy
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cap — a lid
  9. content — the amount
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fall — to drop
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cap — of ice
  24. chair — to sit on

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