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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 116 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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. cold — not warm
  3. present — a gift
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. present — there
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. present — the time now
  10. last — to go on
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. root — of a plant
  14. last — final
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. root — of a word
  17. prune — to trim
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. prune — to trim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. last — finally
  24. cold — an illness

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