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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. sharp — clever
  3. tear — to rip
  4. game — wild animals
  5. net — for catching
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. root — of a plant
  10. game — a match
  11. race — the arms race
  12. craft — a skill
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. net — after costs
  17. race — humankind
  18. craft — boats
  19. root — the cause
  20. net — in sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — a contest
  24. craft — a handicraft

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