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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. net — for catching
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. race — a contest
  6. root — of a plant
  7. net — in sport
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rash — a series
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. root — the cause
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. root — of a word
  16. race — the arms race
  17. spell — magic
  18. race — humankind
  19. plane — a tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rash — hasty
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. plane — in geometry

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