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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. march — the month
  4. game — wild animals
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — a match
  12. race — humankind
  13. march — music
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. vault — a safe
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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