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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — a country
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — a contest
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. court — of law
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — to come down
  10. race — humankind
  11. stem — to come from
  12. court — for sport
  13. land — ground
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stem — of a plant

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