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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cold — an illness
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rock — a stone
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fall — the season
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — a hat
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fall — to drop
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rock — music

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