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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. root — of a plant
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fall — the season
  5. hand — in cards
  6. lean — thin
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cap — of ice
  9. root — of a word
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. file — a document
  16. hand — help
  17. root — the cause
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — ground
  21. cap — a lid
  22. file — a tool
  23. cap — a hat
  24. lean — to bend

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