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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. land — to come down
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. spell — magic
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. land — ground
  8. board — a committee
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — of water
  11. hand — in cards
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — to come from
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. hand — help
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spell — letters
  20. spring — the season
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. land — a country
  23. race — humankind
  24. hand — part of the body

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