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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. root — the cause
  9. season — of the year
  10. track — a path
  11. cap — a lid
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. perch — the fish
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. root — of a word
  19. track — a song
  20. cap — of ice
  21. root — of a plant
  22. clip — to cut
  23. track — to keep track
  24. season — to add flavour

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