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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: mark · race · squash · hide · face · bat · root · cap

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. face — to confront
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mark — a grade
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cap — of ice
  9. root — of a word
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mark — a trace
  13. face — part of the head
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. root — the cause
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. root — of a plant

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