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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mark — a trace
  3. hand — in cards
  4. root — of a word
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cap — a hat
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mark — a grade
  15. staff — employees
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. clip — to cut
  21. staff — employees
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — a video
  24. root — the cause

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