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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 124 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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. cap — a hat
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chair — a leader
  7. tube — a container
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cap — of ice
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. root — of a word
  17. shower — rain
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cap — a lid
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bound — certain
  22. root — of a plant
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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