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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. ground — a position
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. hand — help
  8. bass — the fish
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cap — a lid
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bass — low music
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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