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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. perch — the fish
  4. tube — the underground
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. root — of a plant
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. plane — a tool
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — for paper
  23. race — humankind
  24. tube — a container

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