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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — of ice
  5. root — of a plant
  6. can — to be able to
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. sharp — clever
  11. root — of a word
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mate — a partner
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. mate — to breed
  18. can — a tin
  19. cap — a lid
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. chair — a leader
  24. deal — to handle

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