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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cap — a hat
  3. march — music
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rule — a law
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. fall — the season
  14. stand — to bear
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fall — to drop
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. rule — government
  21. march — the month
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. march — the month

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