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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: chest · mark · mine · cap · dip · fall · shower · bay

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fall — the season
  4. shower — rain
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cap — a lid
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. chest — a box
  12. mark — a grade
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cap — of ice
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. mark — a trace
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mine — belonging to me

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