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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. root — the cause
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. root — of a word
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. spell — magic
  19. game — wild animals
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. game — a match
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stand — for spectators

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