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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. root — of a word
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cell — a phone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. root — the cause
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cap — a hat
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cap — of ice

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