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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spell — letters
  3. root — the cause
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. root — of a plant
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a line of people
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. spell — magic
  21. root — of a word
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. file — a document

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