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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. branch — a division
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rash — a series

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