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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rash — a series
  7. race — humankind
  8. land — ground
  9. root — of a plant
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. race — a contest
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — the cause
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. land — to come down
  18. cell — a phone
  19. root — of a word
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cell — in a prison

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