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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rest — a break
  3. branch — a division
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bound — certain
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bound — obliged

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