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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. root — of a word
  5. cap — of ice
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. cap — a hat
  9. game — wild animals
  10. lie — to recline
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. staff — employees
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spring — a coil
  18. root — the cause
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. game — a match
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. root — of a plant

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