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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. race — a contest
  3. root — the cause
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. race — humankind
  6. chip — for betting
  7. net — after costs
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. present — the time now
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. present — a gift
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chip — to eat
  18. net — in sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. race — the arms race
  21. present — there
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. root — of a word
  24. net — for catching

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