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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. root — the cause
  2. snap — to click
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cap — of ice
  6. season — in sport
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — of a plant
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. season — of the year
  16. cap — a lid
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cap — a hat
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. can — a tin
  22. root — of a word
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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