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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. root — the cause
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. ground — a position
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ground — crushed
  13. row — a line
  14. cap — a lid
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — of a plant
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cap — of ice

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