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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. root — the cause
  5. field — a subject
  6. cap — a lid
  7. press — newspapers
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. can — to be able to
  10. field — for sport
  11. can — a tin
  12. press — a publisher
  13. toast — bread
  14. can — a tin
  15. press — to push
  16. bore — to tire
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cap — of ice
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bore — to drill
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. field — farmland
  23. root — of a word
  24. bore — gave birth

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