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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. season — in sport
  3. cap — a lid
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. bound — tied together
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bound — certain
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. season — of the year
  24. bowl — a football final

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