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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a music group
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bank — for money
  11. cap — of ice
  12. staff — a stick
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — employees
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cap — a lid
  22. staff — employees
  23. band — a ring
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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