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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. face — to confront
  3. club — a group
  4. hand — in cards
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cap — a lid
  7. file — a tool
  8. net — for catching
  9. root — of a word
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a document
  14. net — after costs
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — help
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. net — in sport
  19. face — part of the head
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. club — for golf
  22. cap — a hat
  23. club — for dancing
  24. file — a line of people

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