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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · last · root · rock · leaves · suit · season · race

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. race — a contest
  4. last — to go on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. suit — in cards
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. last — finally
  9. rock — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. race — humankind
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. last — final
  15. suit — to fit
  16. root — the cause
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rock — a stone
  21. suit — clothes
  22. wound — an injury
  23. root — of a word
  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