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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cold — not warm
  5. object — an aim
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wax — to grow
  13. object — to protest
  14. suit — clothes
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. object — a thing
  18. march — the month
  19. suit — in cards
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. cap — of ice
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wax — in the ear

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