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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rest — what's left
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stem — to come from
  6. race — humankind
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. race — a contest
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. scale — in music
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spring — a coil
  24. scale — for weighing

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