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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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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: race · dip · root · scale · shower · lie · capital · chair

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lie — to recline
  4. shower — to wash
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. shower — rain
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. root — of a plant
  10. race — a contest
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. chair — a leader
  14. capital — money
  15. dip — to sink
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. root — the cause
  20. race — the arms race
  21. root — of a word
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. capital — a city
  24. dip — a sauce

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