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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 120 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: cell · firm · court · cap · squash · root · spring · tear

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spring — the season
  6. court — for sport
  7. firm — decided
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cap — a lid
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. root — the cause
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — of water
  14. firm — a company
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — of law
  17. cell — a phone
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. firm — steady
  23. court — of a king
  24. spring — a coil

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