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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cap — a hat
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. root — the cause
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. root — of a word
  24. rash — a series

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