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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cue — a hint
  5. root — the cause
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rule — a law
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. foot — a measure
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. race — a contest
  17. cold — not warm
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. race — humankind
  20. cue — for pool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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