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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chest — a box
  3. club — for golf
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cap — a lid
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wake — a trail
  15. club — a group
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. root — the cause
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. root — of a word
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. staff — a stick

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