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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. can — to be able to
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. stem — to come from
  5. toast — bread
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. race — a contest
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. can — a tin
  17. race — humankind
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bound — certain
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. can — a tin
  24. leaves — lets stay

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