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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — humankind
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. race — a contest
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. root — of a word
  11. season — of the year
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. row — a line
  14. ball — a great time
  15. row — to paddle
  16. swing — in golf
  17. season — in sport
  18. fine — all right
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. swing — music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wax — to grow
  24. root — the cause

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