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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. land — a country
  3. race — humankind
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pop — soda
  7. saw — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. root — of a plant
  11. drill — the tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. root — the cause
  14. land — ground
  15. race — the arms race
  16. roll — a cake
  17. game — a match
  18. land — to come down
  19. root — of a word
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pop — music
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — a kind of play

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