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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. capital — a city
  11. stem — to come from
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. capital — money
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. sharp — clever
  19. court — of law
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. court — of a king
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. race — the arms race

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