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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. land — to come down
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fall — the season
  5. prune — to trim
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cap — of ice
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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