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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. root — the cause
  4. kick — in football
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wake — a trail
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wound — an injury
  11. root — of a word
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. field — for sport
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. field — farmland
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. field — a subject
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pound — for dogs

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