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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. scale — size or range
  3. clip — a video
  4. suit — clothes
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — to cut
  7. march — the month
  8. suit — to fit
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pitch — completely
  11. scale — in music
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. suit — in cards
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. cap — a lid
  22. club — a group
  23. march — music
  24. pitch — a sports field

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