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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. last — final
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cap — a hat
  5. file — a line of people
  6. last — finally
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. file — a document
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pit — in a race
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pit — a hole
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. last — to go on
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. file — a tool
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. rest — a break

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