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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. game — wild animals
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. game — a match
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. root — of a plant
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. root — of a word
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. root — the cause
  24. wake — before a funeral

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