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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mate — a friend
  10. deal — to handle
  11. saw — the tool
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stock — shares
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stock — goods
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. race — the arms race
  24. deal — an agreement

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