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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. tube — the underground
  2. sharp — clever
  3. object — a thing
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. object — an aim
  8. spring — of water
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cap — a lid
  11. object — to protest
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fork — in a road
  17. spring — the season
  18. root — of a word
  19. spring — a coil
  20. root — of a plant
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tube — a container
  23. cap — a hat
  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