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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: root · chest · squash · mate · bat · cap · season · bore

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a word
  6. mate — a friend
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bore — to tire
  11. season — in sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. season — of the year
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. root — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mate — to breed

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