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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — finally
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pop — to visit
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. race — the arms race
  9. scale — size or range
  10. game — wild animals
  11. last — to go on
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. root — of a plant
  14. last — final
  15. race — humankind
  16. pop — music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. race — a contest
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — a match
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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