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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. root — of a plant
  5. squash — the sport
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. club — for golf
  8. root — of a word
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — to crush
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. saw — the tool
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. club — for dancing
  16. last — finally
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. race — humankind
  20. root — the cause
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — to sink
  24. club — a group

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