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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 120 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. board — a committee
  3. net — after costs
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bat — the animal
  10. net — in sport
  11. kid — child
  12. board — to get on
  13. race — a contest
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. root — of a plant
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. root — the cause
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. root — of a word
  24. net — for catching

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