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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cap — of ice
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. march — music
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cap — a lid
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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