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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. race — a contest
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — the arms race
  7. root — of a word
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. root — the cause
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. race — humankind
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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