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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: race · tear · trunk · land · object · root · cabinet · spring

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. land — ground
  3. spring — a coil
  4. object — to protest
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. object — an aim
  9. land — a country
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. race — the arms race
  14. root — of a plant
  15. race — humankind
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. object — a thing
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. root — the cause
  22. land — to come down
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. race — a contest

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