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

Word bank: court · cold · toast · temple · rule · branch · cap · race

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. toast — bread
  4. court — of law
  5. branch — a division
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of a king
  10. race — a contest
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — a law
  15. court — for sport
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. rule — government
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. temple — a place of worship

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