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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rule — a law
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. row — to paddle
  12. spell — magic
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. spell — a short time
  15. track — a path
  16. row — a line
  17. chair — a leader
  18. track — to keep track
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rule — government
  21. track — a song
  22. spell — letters
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. mouse — the animal

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