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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. present — the time now
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — a phone
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. present — there
  22. fine — all right
  23. present — a gift
  24. degree — an amount

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