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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — a hat
  3. court — of law
  4. shower — rain
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. court — for sport
  8. last — final
  9. court — of a king
  10. last — finally
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wake — a trail
  14. face — to confront
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cap — of ice
  20. last — to go on
  21. shower — to wash
  22. craft — boats
  23. bark — to shout
  24. face — part of the head

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