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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cap — a hat
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cap — a lid
  6. hand — help
  7. roll — a list
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. swing — in golf
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cap — of ice
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pop — music
  20. kid — child
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. swing — music
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. swing — to play 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