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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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Word bank
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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: cold · race · spell · rash · root · present · ground · mark

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rash — a series
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. present — the time now
  5. spell — a short time
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spell — magic
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. root — the cause
  14. race — humankind
  15. root — of a plant
  16. present — a gift
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. present — there
  19. spell — letters
  20. ground — a position
  21. mark — a trace
  22. rash — hasty
  23. root — of a word
  24. cold — the Cold War

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