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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. race — a contest
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. capital — a city
  7. board — a committee
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bore — to drill
  13. land — ground
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stem — to come from
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. land — a country
  21. race — humankind
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — the season
  24. bore — to tire

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