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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. net — in sport
  3. bear — the animal
  4. content — happy
  5. net — after costs
  6. march — the month
  7. race — the arms race
  8. net — for catching
  9. stem — to come from
  10. march — music
  11. plane — a tool
  12. march — the month
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. race — humankind
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. race — a contest
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bear — the animal
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bear — to put up with

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