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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · cap · bear · bat · fork · row · temple · branch

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. cap — a lid
  5. row — a line
  6. branch — a division
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bear — the animal
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. fork — in a road
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. tube — a container
  24. bat — the animal

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