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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bass — the fish
  3. race — humankind
  4. bass — low music
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. degree — temperature
  9. root — the cause
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wind — moving air
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spring — a coil
  15. root — of a word
  16. lean — thin
  17. spring — of water
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spring — the season
  24. trunk — of a tree

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