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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. drill — army training
  4. root — of a plant
  5. chip — to eat
  6. drill — the tool
  7. root — of a word
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. root — the cause
  10. chip — for betting
  11. race — a contest
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. spring — of water
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bass — low music
  18. land — ground
  19. bass — the fish
  20. land — to come down
  21. spring — the season
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — humankind

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