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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. face — to confront
  3. squash — the sport
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pop — music
  6. cell — in biology
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. race — humankind
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. face — part of the head
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. race — a contest
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pop — soda
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. squash — to crush
  23. face — to point toward
  24. stem — a stem cell

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