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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. cap — a hat
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cap — a lid
  5. court — of law
  6. object — an aim
  7. branch — a division
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pop — soda
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bark — to shout
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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