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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. shower — rain
  3. wake — a trail
  4. net — after costs
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. net — for catching
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. net — in sport
  19. board — to get on
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. board — a committee
  22. bass — low music
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bass — the fish

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