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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: mate · cold · cap · club · file · tear · root · cabinet

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mate — a partner
  4. file — a tool
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mate — to breed
  8. file — a document
  9. cap — a lid
  10. root — the cause
  11. mate — a friend
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. root — of a word
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. club — for golf

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