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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: root · race · press · tear · last · mine · rule · sharp

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. rule — a law
  3. press — to push
  4. last — final
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. tear — to rip
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. sharp — clever
  11. race — humankind
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rule — government
  15. race — the arms race
  16. press — newspapers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. root — the cause
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — for digging
  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