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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. staff — employees
  3. cap — of ice
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mate — to breed
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. cap — a lid
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. race — humankind
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. root — of a word
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. race — the arms race
  20. spring — a coil
  21. race — a contest
  22. spring — the season
  23. mate — a friend
  24. spring — of water

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