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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: club · land · race · season · snap · wave · root · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. root — of a word
  3. club — for golf
  4. land — to come down
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. land — ground
  7. season — in sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. club — for dancing
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. club — a group
  15. season — of the year
  16. root — the cause
  17. fine — all right
  18. root — of a plant
  19. land — a country
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. race — a contest
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. race — humankind

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