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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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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: mug · game · can · squash · march · drill · face · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. can — to be able to
  3. drill — the tool
  4. can — a tin
  5. march — music
  6. face — to confront
  7. mug — a face
  8. can — a tin
  9. drill — a practice
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. march — the month
  17. mug — a cup
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. march — the month
  20. game — a match
  21. drill — army training
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. mug — to rob

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