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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cap — a hat
  3. saw — the tool
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cap — a lid
  8. branch — a division
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cap — of ice
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — a box
  17. scale — in music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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