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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: root · land · hand · mate · spell · race · chair · last

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. root — the cause
  5. last — finally
  6. spell — a short time
  7. root — of a word
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. last — to go on
  12. race — the arms race
  13. root — of a plant
  14. hand — in cards
  15. chair — a leader
  16. race — humankind
  17. spell — letters
  18. land — ground
  19. last — final
  20. spell — magic
  21. race — a contest
  22. hand — help
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mate — a partner

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