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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. lean — thin
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stem — to come from
  7. root — of a plant
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. rule — a law
  15. root — of a word
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. root — the cause
  20. race — humankind
  21. last — final
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rule — government
  24. lean — to bend

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