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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 116 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wake — a trail
  4. root — the cause
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. root — of a word
  8. club — a group
  9. cap — of ice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. drill — army training
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. club — for golf
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. drill — a practice
  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