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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. race — humankind
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — a position
  4. rule — government
  5. tear — to rip
  6. root — the cause
  7. stock — goods
  8. snap — to click
  9. root — of a plant
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. race — a contest
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stock — shares
  16. spring — a coil
  17. root — of a word
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — the season
  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