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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mine — for digging
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. march — music
  6. race — humankind
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. root — of a plant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. ball — a great time
  13. march — the month
  14. race — the arms race
  15. foot — a measure
  16. root — of a word
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. race — a contest
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. march — the month
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. root — the cause
  24. ball — a round shape

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