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

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cap — of ice
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — help
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mate — a partner
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cap — a lid
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cap — a hat
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. hand — part of the body

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