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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ground — the earth
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cap — a hat
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. ground — a position
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. branch — a division
  19. ground — crushed
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. temple — a place of worship

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