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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cap — of ice
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rule — government
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bark — to shout
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. fall — the season
  18. branch — a division
  19. rule — a law
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. dip — to sink

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