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

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. kid — child
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rush — hurry
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. race — a contest
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — the animal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. race — the arms race
  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