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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. tear — to rip
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. wake — a trail
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. roll — a list
  10. net — in sport
  11. cap — a hat
  12. branch — a division
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. deal — to handle
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. roll — a cake
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — for catching
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. net — after costs
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. deal — an agreement

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