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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. shower — rain
  3. root — the cause
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bat — the animal
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — of ice
  12. stock — goods
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cap — a lid
  16. root — of a word
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stock — shares
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. scale — in music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. scale — size or range

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