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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: bay · race · ground · track · mine · firm · season · root

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. mine — for digging
  4. track — a path
  5. firm — decided
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. race — a contest
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. firm — a company
  10. root — the cause
  11. ground — crushed
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. season — of the year
  16. ground — a position
  17. root — of a plant
  18. track — a song
  19. race — humankind
  20. ground — the earth
  21. firm — steady
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. root — of a word

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