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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — the cause
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. root — of a plant
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. file — a tool
  17. club — a group
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. race — humankind
  24. pound — for dogs

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