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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a lid
  6. fall — to drop
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. dip — to sink
  9. tear — to rip
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. fall — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. band — a music group
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cap — a hat
  20. scale — size or range
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. scale — in music
  24. branch — a division

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