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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · cap · game · cold · lash · tear · pop · stick

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pop — to visit
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tear — from crying
  12. game — a match
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pop — soda
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pop — music
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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