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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pop — soda
  9. land — a country
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. root — the cause
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — of a plant
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. pop — to visit
  17. face — to confront
  18. land — to come down
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. land — ground
  21. pop — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wake — a trail

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