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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. root — of a plant
  3. track — a path
  4. last — to go on
  5. root — the cause
  6. march — music
  7. pit — a hole
  8. last — finally
  9. pit — in a race
  10. last — final
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. track — a song
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. march — the month
  16. race — the arms race
  17. march — the month
  18. race — a contest
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. root — of a word

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