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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mug — a cup
  4. land — to come down
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — a hat
  7. land — ground
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. mug — a face
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. shower — rain
  17. mug — to rob
  18. cap — of ice
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. land — a country
  22. rush — hurry
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wind — moving air

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