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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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Word bank
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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: hide · chair · hand · root · cap · bat · lash · prune

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. hand — in cards
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cap — a hat
  11. hand — help
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. root — the cause
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. root — of a word

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