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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. march — the month
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. vault — a safe
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. march — the month
  15. cap — a lid
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wound — an injury
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — the sport
  22. march — music
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bass — low music

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