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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spring — a coil
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. mine — for digging
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. staff — a stick
  15. root — of a plant
  16. march — music
  17. staff — employees
  18. root — of a word
  19. march — the month
  20. staff — employees
  21. march — the month
  22. race — a contest
  23. chest — a box
  24. root — the cause

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