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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: scale · arm · straw · cap · tear · bulb · temple · squash

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. scale — size or range
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cap — a lid
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — of ice
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. scale — in music
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bulb — for light
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tear — from crying
  24. arm — a part of something

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