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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. root — of a word
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. net — in sport
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fine — high quality
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mate — a friend
  12. net — after costs
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wind — moving air
  16. root — of a plant
  17. fine — all right
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. race — a contest
  21. net — for catching
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. root — the cause
  24. fine — a penalty

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