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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 116 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — a hat
  3. root — of a word
  4. cap — a lid
  5. root — of a plant
  6. race — a contest
  7. row — a line
  8. track — a path
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. track — a song
  11. race — the arms race
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. track — to keep track
  14. club — for dancing
  15. root — the cause
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. club — for golf
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cap — of ice
  21. club — a group
  22. race — humankind
  23. perch — the fish
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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