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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. roll — a list
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. root — of a word
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. mine — for digging
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cap — of ice
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rash — a series
  15. root — the cause
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. roll — a cake
  18. stock — shares
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. root — of a plant
  24. face — to confront

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