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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: jam · root · cold · craft · staff · face · race · perch

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. race — a contest
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — an illness
  5. craft — a skill
  6. race — humankind
  7. root — the cause
  8. staff — employees
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. race — the arms race
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. cold — not warm
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. staff — a stick
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. craft — boats
  20. root — of a word
  21. face — to confront
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. staff — employees
  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