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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. can — a tin
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cold — not warm
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — in football
  10. can — a tin
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. can — to be able to
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cap — of ice
  21. branch — a division
  22. cap — a hat
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. branch — of a tree

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