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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. race — humankind
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. race — a contest
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kick — in football
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. field — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. stem — to come from
  21. field — a subject
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — a stem cell

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