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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kick — in football
  3. kid — to tease
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chest — of your body
  8. root — of a word
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. root — the cause
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chest — a box
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cap — of ice
  24. race — a contest

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