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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 124 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. race — the arms race
  3. root — of a plant
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mine — for digging
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. race — a contest
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. root — of a word
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. pound — a weight
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pop — music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. root — the cause
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pop — soda

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