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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. shower — rain
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cap — a hat
  5. march — music
  6. cap — of ice
  7. game — a match
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — the month
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. game — wild animals
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cap — a lid
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. shower — to wash
  22. branch — a division
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. march — the month

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