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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bat — the animal
  3. march — music
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. root — of a plant
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. hand — help
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. cap — a hat
  10. root — the cause
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — the month
  15. root — of a word
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. saw — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. race — the arms race
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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