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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. vault — a safe
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rush — hurry
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mate — to breed
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kick — in football
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cap — a lid
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. clip — a video
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. clip — to cut
  24. prune — to trim

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