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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: bat · cap · kid · mate · cell · date · kick · root

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — of ice
  4. date — the fruit
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cell — a phone
  7. root — of a word
  8. kid — child
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. kid — to tease
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. root — the cause
  20. kick — in football
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cap — a hat

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