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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mug — a face
  3. cap — of ice
  4. hand — help
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bulb — for light
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. branch — a division
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mug — a cup
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mug — to rob
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bulb — for light
  20. season — of the year
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. game — wild animals
  23. season — in sport
  24. nail — for a hammer

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