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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. root — of a word
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — crushed
  7. band — a music group
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cap — of ice
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. root — of a plant
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. root — the cause
  21. band — a ring
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ground — a position
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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