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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — happy
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mate — a friend
  5. content — the amount
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. present — a gift
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. swing — music
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cap — of ice
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stem — to come from
  24. cap — a lid

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