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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. root — of a plant
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. root — of a word
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cap — a hat
  7. club — a group
  8. cap — a lid
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rash — hasty
  11. kid — to tease
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. root — the cause
  16. club — for dancing
  17. fork — in a road
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. club — for golf
  21. kid — child
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rash — a series

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