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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. last — to go on
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rock — music
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rash — a series
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — a stone
  10. cap — of ice
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. kid — child
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. last — final
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rash — hasty
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. kick — in football
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. last — finally

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