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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. rash — a series
  4. spell — a short time
  5. current — electric
  6. spell — magic
  7. root — of a word
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rash — hasty
  10. race — humankind
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. root — the cause
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — letters
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a plant
  24. race — a contest

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