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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 120 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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. shower — rain
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cap — a hat
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bass — low music
  11. cap — of ice
  12. hand — in cards
  13. root — the cause
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fall — the season
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bass — the fish
  23. hand — help
  24. root — of a plant

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