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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — to grow
  8. present — the time now
  9. dip — to sink
  10. present — there
  11. cap — of ice
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. present — a gift
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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