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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pop — soda
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kid — to tease
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. content — the amount
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — happy
  12. root — the cause
  13. pop — music
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rest — what's left
  18. root — of a word
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. plane — a tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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