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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — the season
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. race — humankind
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — the arms race
  9. content — happy
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. root — of a word
  12. spring — of water
  13. root — the cause
  14. fall — to drop
  15. root — of a plant
  16. file — a tool
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. spring — the season
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a line of people
  21. spring — a coil
  22. content — the amount
  23. file — a document
  24. leaves — to go away

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