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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. root — of a word
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — a committee
  6. spring — the season
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. race — a contest
  9. spring — of water
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — a coil
  13. race — humankind
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. board — to get on
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stock — goods
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. chest — a box

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