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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. object — to protest
  5. root — of a plant
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. root — the cause
  9. object — an aim
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. object — a thing
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. court — of law
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. root — of a word

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