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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. saw — the tool
  3. root — of a word
  4. staff — employees
  5. race — humankind
  6. ball — a great time
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. staff — employees
  10. cap — a hat
  11. root — the cause
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — child
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — to tease
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fall — the season
  20. race — a contest
  21. cap — of ice
  22. staff — a stick
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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