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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 124 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  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. content — happy
  3. rush — hurry
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wind — moving air
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. content — the amount
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — to come from
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rush — to hurry
  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