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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. march — the month
  3. court — of law
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bore — to tire
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. march — the month
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. race — humankind
  13. root — of a plant
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. root — the cause
  16. net — after costs
  17. court — of a king
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. net — in sport
  20. bore — to drill
  21. march — music
  22. race — a contest
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. root — of a word

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