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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. land — ground
  3. spring — the season
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — of ice
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — of water
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. root — of a word
  19. land — to come down
  20. tear — to rip
  21. land — a country
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — a hat

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