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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — magic
  3. wound — an injury
  4. march — the month
  5. craft — a skill
  6. root — of a word
  7. file — a tool
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. spell — letters
  10. bear — the animal
  11. file — a document
  12. march — the month
  13. race — humankind
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. craft — boats
  18. file — a line of people
  19. root — the cause
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — music
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. root — of a plant

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