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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stem — to come from
  6. club — for golf
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. club — a group
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. game — a match
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. club — for dancing
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. game — wild animals

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