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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. shower — to wash
  5. march — music
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. fall — the season
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. shower — rain
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. branch — a division
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. march — the month
  18. wax — to grow
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. march — the month
  24. date — the fruit

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