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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 124 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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a music group
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. capital — a city
  10. root — of a plant
  11. toast — bread
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pass — a permit
  14. band — a ring
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. capital — money
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. snap — to click
  21. root — the cause
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. calf — of the leg

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