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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. shower — rain
  7. row — a line
  8. game — wild animals
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wax — to grow
  17. root — of a plant
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. root — of a word
  21. foot — a measure
  22. root — the cause
  23. race — a contest
  24. wound — an injury

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