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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spring — of water
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fall — the season
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. root — of a plant
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pop — soda
  9. kick — in football
  10. cap — of ice
  11. fall — to drop
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — the season
  14. pop — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pop — to visit
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. plane — a tool
  22. band — a music group
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. plane — in geometry

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