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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cap — of ice
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cap — a lid
  7. shower — to wash
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. foot — a measure
  10. deal — to handle
  11. ground — crushed
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. shower — rain
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. ground — the earth
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. branch — a division
  20. ground — a position
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — all right
  24. branch — of a tree

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