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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · bat · object · root · race · leaves · pop · chest

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bat — the animal
  7. race — humankind
  8. object — an aim
  9. chest — of your body
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cap — a lid
  15. race — a contest
  16. pop — soda
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. object — a thing
  19. cap — of ice
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cap — a hat
  22. race — the arms race
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pop — music

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