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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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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. roll — a list
  5. file — a line of people
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. branch — a division
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cap — of ice
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. cap — a lid
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. file — a document
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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