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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. band — a music group
  4. staff — employees
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. staff — a stick
  7. field — a subject
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. shower — rain
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. band — a ring
  13. field — farmland
  14. pit — in a race
  15. field — for sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pit — a hole
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mine — for digging
  20. shower — to wash
  21. staff — employees
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. race — a contest
  24. stem — to come from

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