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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lean — thin
  5. root — of a word
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mark — a trace
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cap — a lid
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — a hat

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