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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cap — a hat
  8. fall — the season
  9. spell — magic
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cap — of ice
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. club — a group
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spell — letters
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spell — a short time
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. club — for dancing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. club — for golf

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