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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. tube — the underground
  3. cap — a lid
  4. drill — army training
  5. club — for golf
  6. tube — a container
  7. club — a group
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. club — for dancing
  10. drill — a practice
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cap — a hat
  15. file — a tool
  16. root — the cause
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. board — a committee
  19. root — of a word
  20. drill — the tool
  21. board — to get on
  22. file — a document
  23. root — of a plant
  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