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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. band — a ring
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. game — wild animals
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cell — a phone
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bark — to shout
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cap — a lid
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. game — a match
  16. bank — for money
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  24. cell — in biology

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