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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. last — final
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. season — in sport
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. root — of a word
  14. cap — a hat
  15. ground — a position
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. cap — a lid
  18. last — finally
  19. ground — crushed
  20. season — of the year
  21. pound — a weight
  22. root — of a plant
  23. last — to go on
  24. root — the cause

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