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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cap — of ice
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cap — a hat
  8. root — of a word
  9. mine — for digging
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bound — certain
  12. prune — to trim
  13. root — the cause
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cap — a lid
  17. root — of a plant
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bound — tied together
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. scale — in 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