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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cap — a hat
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. root — the cause
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. march — the month
  11. cap — a lid
  12. march — music
  13. root — of a word
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fall — the season
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cap — of ice
  22. march — the month
  23. nail — on a finger
  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