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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. root — of a word
  3. march — the month
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — a contest
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. march — music
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. root — the cause
  21. march — the month
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fork — in a road
  24. root — of a plant

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