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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. mate — a partner
  3. season — of the year
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — ground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. root — the cause
  13. land — a country
  14. race — the arms race
  15. root — of a word
  16. object — an aim
  17. mate — a friend
  18. land — to come down
  19. root — of a plant
  20. object — a thing
  21. mate — to breed
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. season — in sport

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