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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a hat
  4. root — of a plant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. ground — a position
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. game — a match
  10. root — of a word
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. game — wild animals
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. root — the cause
  22. cap — of ice
  23. chest — a box
  24. rush — a thrill

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