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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fall — the season
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — a lid
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kick — in football
  10. fall — to drop
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. content — happy
  18. root — the cause
  19. tear — to rip
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cap — a hat
  23. root — of a word
  24. swing — music

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