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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  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. kick — in football
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. field — a subject
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. field — for sport
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. race — a contest
  21. field — farmland
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wave — with your hand
  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