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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cap — a hat
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. root — of a word
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. race — a contest
  11. root — of a plant
  12. spring — the season
  13. face — to confront
  14. spring — of water
  15. face — part of the head
  16. band — a music group
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spring — a coil
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. race — humankind
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. root — the cause
  24. coach — a trainer

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