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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. stem — to come from
  3. race — a contest
  4. net — after costs
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chest — of your body
  7. drill — army training
  8. race — humankind
  9. net — in sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bank — for money
  14. chest — a box
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bank — for money
  20. squash — the sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. bank — of a river
  23. drill — the tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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