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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. craft — boats
  3. cap — a lid
  4. squash — the sport
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. branch — a division
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cap — of ice
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tube — the underground
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tube — a container
  24. craft — a skill

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