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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cap — of ice
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tube — a container
  7. cap — a hat
  8. court — of a king
  9. root — the cause
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. tube — the underground
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. court — for sport
  16. rock — a stone
  17. toast — bread
  18. spring — of water
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. spring — the season
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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