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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tube — the underground
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spring — the season
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mate — a friend
  12. roll — a list
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. net — after costs
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tube — a container
  19. net — for catching
  20. roll — a cake
  21. net — in sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. tube — in a tire

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