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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cold — not warm
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. root — the cause
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. track — to keep track
  11. root — of a plant
  12. board — a committee
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. track — a song
  15. hand — help
  16. mine — for digging
  17. snap — to click
  18. hand — in cards
  19. track — a path
  20. cap — a hat
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. root — of a word
  24. hand — part of the body

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