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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: mark · spell · root · fork · fan · cold · chest · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — magic
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. root — the cause
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. chest — a box
  15. root — of a plant
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cold — not warm
  19. root — of a word
  20. fork — in a road
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cap — of ice

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