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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: ground · rest · leaves · bear · bat · cap · snap · chair

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ground — a position
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rest — what's left
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rest — a break
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bear — the animal
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. ground — crushed

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