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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. root — the cause
  3. last — final
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. scale — size or range
  6. last — finally
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. scale — in music
  10. wake — a trail
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. root — of a plant
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. root — of a word
  16. last — to go on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. race — humankind

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