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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: branch · bat · bound · mug · chair · face · cap · bass

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — a division
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bass — low music
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bound — tied together
  17. face — to point toward
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bass — the fish
  24. face — to confront

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