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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. root — the cause
  3. race — the arms race
  4. club — for dancing
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chest — a box
  7. club — a group
  8. chest — of your body
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mug — a face
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mug — a cup
  14. club — for golf
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — of a plant
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. race — a contest
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cold — not warm

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