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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. can — a tin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. race — humankind
  6. spring — of water
  7. net — in sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. net — after costs
  10. last — final
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spring — a coil
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. can — to be able to
  15. race — the arms race
  16. last — to go on
  17. race — a contest
  18. net — for catching
  19. can — a tin
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spring — the season
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. game — a match
  24. last — finally

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