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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 116 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: cap · cold · fan · trunk · root · fall · rest · kid

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rest — what's left
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fall — the season
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — the cause
  17. cap — a lid
  18. root — of a plant
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rest — a break
  22. root — of a word
  23. cap — a hat
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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