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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. face — to confront
  3. board — to get on
  4. spring — of water
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. race — humankind
  9. file — a tool
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chair — a leader
  12. race — a contest
  13. file — a line of people
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. file — a document
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. face — part of the head
  21. board — a committee
  22. race — the arms race
  23. face — to point toward
  24. jam — in traffic

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