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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. hand — help
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wake — a trail
  8. root — of a plant
  9. scale — size or range
  10. lie — to recline
  11. hand — in cards
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cap — a hat
  14. branch — a division
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cap — a lid
  17. root — of a word
  18. scale — in music
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. root — the cause
  24. scale — for weighing

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