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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: branch · last · race · root · cold · game · bore · ruler

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. race — a contest
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. race — humankind
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cold — an illness
  10. last — final
  11. bore — to tire
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. branch — a division
  16. last — to go on
  17. root — the cause
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bore — to drill
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. last — finally

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