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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. suit — in cards
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. race — a contest
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. field — for sport
  16. race — humankind
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. mine — for digging
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. suit — to fit
  23. race — the arms race
  24. suit — clothes

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