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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. toast — bread
  5. branch — a division
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mine — for digging
  9. board — to get on
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. spell — a short time
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. spell — letters
  16. file — a line of people
  17. spell — magic
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cap — a lid
  22. board — a committee
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a tool

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