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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. race — humankind
  3. foot — a measure
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. band — a music group
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. race — a contest
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. march — music
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — the month
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. band — a ring
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. march — the month
  24. mouse — for a computer

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