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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 116 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bat — the animal
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. game — a match
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wax — to grow
  20. dip — to sink
  21. game — wild animals
  22. branch — a division
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pound — for dogs

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