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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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. spell — magic
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — army training
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bark — to shout
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. snap — to click
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spell — letters
  23. drill — a practice
  24. date — on the calendar

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