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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. scale — in music
  3. pit — a hole
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. scale — size or range
  11. dip — to sink
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cap — a lid
  14. chest — of your body
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pit — in a race

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