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

Word bank: present · wind · bat · arm · root · hide · cap · roll

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. root — of a word
  3. roll — a list
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. present — the time now
  12. cap — a hat
  13. root — of a plant
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. roll — a cake
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. root — the cause
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. present — a gift
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cap — a lid
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wind — moving air

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