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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a word
  6. present — a gift
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. race — humankind
  11. mine — for digging
  12. race — a contest
  13. root — of a plant
  14. file — a tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rule — government
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. race — the arms race
  20. present — the time now
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a line of people

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