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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mine — for digging
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. race — humankind
  9. rash — a series
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. root — the cause
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. branch — a division
  18. root — of a word
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. root — of a plant
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. deal — to handle

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