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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. toast — bread
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. chip — for betting
  10. race — humankind
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. court — for sport
  19. pass — a permit
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. chip — to eat
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — a division
  24. court — of a king

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