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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: hide · bat · tear · mine · cap · squash · wake · root

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cap — of ice
  6. root — the cause
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mine — for digging
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cap — a hat
  18. root — of a word
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wake — a trail
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wake — before a funeral

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