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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pass — a permit
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fine — all right
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spell — letters
  10. root — of a word
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bark — to shout
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spell — magic
  22. root — the cause
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wind — moving air

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