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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — of a word
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. race — the arms race
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. race — a contest
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pit — a hole
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. root — the cause
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pit — in a race
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spell — magic
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. clip — for paper
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. clip — to cut
  22. race — humankind
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — letters

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