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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. row — to paddle
  6. game — a match
  7. foot — a measure
  8. game — wild animals
  9. land — ground
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. land — a country
  16. cap — a lid
  17. row — a line
  18. rest — what's left
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — to come down
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pitch — completely
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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