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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. season — in sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. bass — the fish
  4. race — humankind
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. chest — of your body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. chest — a box
  10. bass — low music
  11. root — the cause
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hand — help
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chest — of your body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hand — in cards
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. sharp — exactly
  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