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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. root — of a word
  3. court — of law
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. race — humankind
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. land — a country
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. root — the cause
  15. court — of a king
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lean — to bend
  19. rash — a series
  20. bear — the animal
  21. court — for sport
  22. root — of a plant
  23. lean — thin
  24. rash — hasty

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