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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. game — wild animals
  7. face — to point toward
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stock — shares
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. face — to confront
  13. stock — goods
  14. game — a match
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. band — a ring
  17. race — humankind
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. face — part of the head
  23. race — the arms race
  24. band — a music group

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