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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. root — the cause
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. lean — to bend
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lean — thin
  11. chair — a leader
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stock — goods
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stock — shares
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. degree — temperature

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