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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. race — a contest
  5. lie — to recline
  6. prune — to trim
  7. root — the cause
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rest — a break
  11. root — of a word
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — of a plant
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rest — what's left
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. race — the arms race
  20. drill — army training
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — a phone
  24. drill — a practice

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