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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 120 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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 — the arms race
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. race — humankind
  5. row — to paddle
  6. file — a document
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a line of people
  16. row — a line
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tear — to rip
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  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