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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.

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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: cap · race · wax · cold · content · safe · rock · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cold — an illness
  6. race — humankind
  7. cap — of ice
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cap — a lid
  11. race — the arms race
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. root — the cause
  14. cap — a hat
  15. content — the amount
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rock — a stone
  19. race — a contest
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. rock — music
  24. wax — for sculpting

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