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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 116 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spell — letters
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spell — magic
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. spell — a short time
  13. root — of a plant
  14. season — of the year
  15. root — the cause
  16. race — the arms race
  17. root — of a word
  18. race — a contest

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