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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cap — a lid
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — soda
  10. cap — a hat
  11. last — final
  12. chest — a box
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ball — a great time
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. ball — a dance
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — in football
  21. last — finally
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. last — to go on
  24. cell — in a prison

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