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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. root — of a plant
  4. present — the time now
  5. kid — child
  6. race — a contest
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. present — there
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. race — humankind
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. root — the cause
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. present — a gift
  17. root — of a word
  18. spring — the season
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — a coil
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. spring — of water

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