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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 refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. spring — a coil
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a word
  6. race — humankind
  7. row — a line
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — a contest
  10. root — of a plant
  11. key — for a lock
  12. spring — the season
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. row — to paddle
  17. key — the most important part
  18. squash — the sport
  19. race — the arms race
  20. spring — of water
  21. mug — a face
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mug — to rob
  24. squash — to crush

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