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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. press — newspapers
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. branch — a division
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cap — a lid
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. press — a publisher
  18. court — of a king
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. press — to push
  22. mine — for digging
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a ring

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