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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. shower — rain
  3. land — ground
  4. spell — letters
  5. kick — in football
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. land — a country
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — steady
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. firm — a company
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. root — of a plant
  23. cap — of ice
  24. land — to come down

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