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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. race — a contest
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spell — magic
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. spell — a short time
  12. root — of a plant
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. root — the cause
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. race — the arms race
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. root — of a word
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. race — humankind
  24. sharp — with an edge

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