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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. march — music
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. game — a match
  20. march — the month
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bulb — for light
  24. lie — to recline

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