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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bear — the animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. race — humankind
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. current — electric
  8. game — wild animals
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. root — of a word
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. game — a match
  20. current — happening now
  21. root — the cause
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. current — of water

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