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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. race — a contest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pop — music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pop — soda
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cell — a phone
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. race — humankind
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cell — in biology

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