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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. march — music
  4. race — humankind
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. club — a group
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. craft — a skill
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. file — a tool
  15. march — the month
  16. race — a contest
  17. club — for golf
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. stem — to come from
  20. craft — boats
  21. file — a line of people
  22. race — the arms race
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. stem — a stem cell

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