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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. pit — a hole
  3. ground — the earth
  4. file — a document
  5. capital — a city
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ground — crushed
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ground — a position
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cap — of ice
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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