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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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Word bank
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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: hand · face · pop · charge · cap · craft · cell · saw

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pop — soda
  3. cell — a phone
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pop — music
  6. face — to confront
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. craft — boats
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cap — a lid
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cap — of ice
  19. hand — help
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. charge — a price
  22. craft — a skill
  23. charge — in control
  24. saw — the tool

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