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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ground — the earth
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cue — a signal
  8. root — the cause
  9. cell — a phone
  10. race — humankind
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ground — crushed
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. root — of a word
  18. race — a contest
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ground — a position
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. root — of a plant

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