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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stem — to come from
  3. court — of a king
  4. race — humankind
  5. band — a ring
  6. race — a contest
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — the season
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spring — of water
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. court — of law
  18. race — the arms race
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. spring — a coil
  22. court — for sport
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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