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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 120 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: plane · court · branch · firm · bat · cap · wound · cell

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. firm — decided
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. court — of law
  12. branch — a division
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. court — of a king
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. firm — a company
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. firm — steady
  22. plane — a tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. plane — in geometry

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