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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. root — of a word
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. net — after costs
  12. root — the cause
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cap — of ice
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — a hat
  19. net — for catching
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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