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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bore — to tire
  3. land — to come down
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mug — a face
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. race — a contest
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bore — to drill
  14. race — the arms race
  15. court — of law
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. mug — a cup
  23. race — humankind
  24. ruler — for measuring

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