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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. root — the cause
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. content — happy
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cap — a lid
  12. kid — child
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — the amount
  19. root — of a word
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. tube — a container
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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