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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. branch — a division
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cap — a lid
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cap — a hat
  14. present — a gift
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stand — to bear

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