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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cap — a lid
  4. toast — bread
  5. swing — music
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. swing — in golf
  8. branch — a division
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — to play on
  11. march — music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. march — the month
  14. last — finally
  15. cap — a hat
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cell — a phone
  24. nail — on a finger

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