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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pop — soda
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cap — a lid
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cold — an illness
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. game — a match
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — not warm

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