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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — the cause
  4. cap — a lid
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spell — letters
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. game — a match
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. present — a gift
  16. root — of a plant
  17. present — the time now
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fall — the season
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. present — there
  22. spell — magic
  23. cap — a hat
  24. root — of a word

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