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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: board · tear · cell · net · wake · stick · cap · mine

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. net — in sport
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. board — a committee
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. net — for catching
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. board — to get on
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wake — a trail
  21. net — after costs
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cap — a hat

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