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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. suit — clothes
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — of a word
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. root — the cause
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. suit — in cards
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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