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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: wake · band · dip · mark · fall · cap · kid · key

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kid — child
  6. key — the most important part
  7. mark — a trace
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cap — of ice
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. fall — the season
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. band — a ring
  22. dip — to sink
  23. band — a music group
  24. wake — a trail

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