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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rash — a series
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mine — for digging
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bore — to tire
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bark — to shout
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bat — the animal
  20. branch — a division
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bark — of a tree

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