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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — for sport
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a music group
  10. kick — in football
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — of a king
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. fall — the season
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of law

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