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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. season — in sport
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. race — the arms race
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. root — of a word
  9. season — of the year
  10. drill — a practice
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. deal — to handle
  14. game — a match
  15. drill — army training
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a plant
  23. game — wild animals
  24. season — to add flavour

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