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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — a division
  7. band — a music group
  8. shower — rain
  9. cap — a hat
  10. band — a ring
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cap — of ice
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pit — in a race
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. vault — a safe
  21. shower — to wash
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. perch — for a bird

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