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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: cap · chair · cold · wax · rush · pop · fall · branch

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — the season
  8. cap — a lid
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rush — hurry
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cap — of ice
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pop — to visit
  17. branch — a division
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pop — soda
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wax — for sculpting

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