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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. can — a tin
  4. court — of a king
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. branch — a division
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rule — a law
  19. cold — not warm
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — government
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cap — a hat

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