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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. rest — what's left
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. race — a contest
  7. spell — magic
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — final
  13. drill — army training
  14. race — the arms race
  15. drill — a practice
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — to go on
  19. spell — a short time
  20. drill — the tool
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rest — a break
  23. root — the cause
  24. race — humankind

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