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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. track — to keep track
  13. cap — a lid
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — not warm
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cap — a hat
  23. track — a path
  24. cell — in a prison

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