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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. root — of a word
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cap — a lid
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — the cause
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. root — of a plant
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wake — a trail
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cap — a hat
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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