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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — a division
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bound — obliged
  7. fall — to drop
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bound — certain
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cap — of ice
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rock — music
  18. fall — the season
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pop — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bound — tied together
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bat — for baseball

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