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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. ground — a position
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. face — part of the head
  5. root — of a plant
  6. race — humankind
  7. root — of a word
  8. last — finally
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. saw — the tool
  11. race — a contest
  12. face — to confront
  13. root — the cause
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. craft — boats
  17. wax — to grow
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. ground — the earth
  21. face — to point toward
  22. race — the arms race
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. ground — crushed

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