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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. root — of a word
  3. rest — what's left
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cap — of ice
  11. court — of a king
  12. cap — a hat
  13. ball — a great time
  14. root — the cause
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bulb — for light
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rest — a break
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. court — for sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bulb — for light
  24. court — of law

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