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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 do anything ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. root — of a plant
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. race — a contest
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — the cause
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rash — a series
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mine — for digging
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. last — finally
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. race — the arms race
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. race — humankind
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mine — an explosive

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