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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mate — a partner
  5. root — of a word
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. swing — in golf
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. root — the cause
  11. spell — letters
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. spell — magic
  14. swing — music
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. row — a line
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. spell — a short time
  21. swing — to play on
  22. mate — to breed
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — the animal

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