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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. cap — a hat
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. vault — a safe
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. hand — help
  12. fall — to drop
  13. shower — rain
  14. cap — of ice
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cap — a lid
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. branch — a division
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fall — the season
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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