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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · cap · bulb · bat · shower · key · wound · field

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. key — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cap — of ice
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bulb — for light
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cap — a lid
  18. shower — rain
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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