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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. root — of a word
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cap — of ice
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — the season
  9. rest — what's left
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. face — to point toward
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spring — of water
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chest — a box
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rest — a break
  20. cap — a lid
  21. root — the cause
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bulb — for light
  24. prune — the fruit

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