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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. race — humankind
  3. root — of a plant
  4. present — there
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — the amount
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rash — a series
  11. cap — a hat
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cap — of ice
  14. spring — of water
  15. root — the cause
  16. present — the time now
  17. rash — hasty
  18. race — a contest
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. root — of a word
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — a coil
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. patient — a sick person

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