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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. kid — child
  4. band — a ring
  5. bat — the animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. root — of a plant
  8. key — in music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — a lid
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. root — the cause
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. key — for a lock
  19. cap — of ice
  20. root — of a word
  21. key — the most important part
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. nail — for a hammer

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