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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. rush — hurry
  3. shower — rain
  4. tube — a container
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pop — music
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. court — of a king
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cap — a hat
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pop — to visit
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cap — of ice
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. court — of law
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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