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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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468
Word bank
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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — a contest
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — a city
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. race — humankind
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. sharp — clever
  21. capital — money
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. degree — from a university
  24. lash — an eyelash

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