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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. root — the cause
  4. face — part of the head
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. root — of a plant
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. race — humankind
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. root — of a word
  15. face — to confront
  16. race — a contest
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. race — the arms race
  21. saw — the tool
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. perch — the fish
  24. rock — a stone

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