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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: pit · hand · bowl · cap · season · leaves · ground · object

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pit — a hole
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. object — a thing
  7. hand — help
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pit — in a race
  12. object — to protest
  13. season — of the year
  14. cap — of ice
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — a position
  17. cap — a lid
  18. hand — in cards
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. ground — the earth
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. object — an aim

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