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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. game — wild animals
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fine — all right
  6. root — of a word
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — a match
  18. spring — the season
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fine — high quality
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a plant

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