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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 120 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: root · race · pound · staff · scale · tear · wake · coach

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. staff — a stick
  4. root — the cause
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pound — a weight
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tear — to rip
  12. staff — employees
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — a contest
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. root — of a word
  20. scale — in music
  21. staff — employees
  22. race — the arms race
  23. root — of a plant
  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