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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. root — of a word
  5. spell — a short time
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. root — the cause
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spell — magic
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. spell — letters
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. race — a contest
  21. wake — a trail
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. root — of a plant

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