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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — a match
  8. stand — to bear
  9. kick — in football
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. root — of a plant
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. root — the cause
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. root — of a word

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