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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · last · ground · cell · wake · race · root · deal

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cell — a phone
  5. ground — a position
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wound — an injury
  9. root — of a word
  10. last — finally
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ground — crushed
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. last — final
  18. root — of a plant
  19. race — humankind
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. last — to go on
  23. root — the cause
  24. deal — an agreement

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