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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. root — of a word
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — the cause
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — of a king
  14. race — the arms race
  15. court — for sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. object — to protest
  19. court — of law
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. root — of a plant
  23. prune — to trim
  24. race — humankind

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