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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. face — to confront
  5. ground — crushed
  6. swing — in golf
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. club — a group
  9. swing — to play on
  10. drill — a practice
  11. club — for golf
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. ground — a position
  14. face — part of the head
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. swing — music
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. club — for dancing
  21. ground — the earth
  22. drill — army training
  23. face — to point toward
  24. sharp — clever

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