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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. race — humankind
  9. board — a committee
  10. staff — employees
  11. race — a contest
  12. bass — low music
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the fish
  21. race — the arms race
  22. staff — a stick
  23. board — to get on
  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